will take place on Tuesday, April 16, 2019 from 15:00 to 16:00 hours in CBBM, Ground Floor, Seminar Room B1/B2.
Host: Prof. Dr. Sören Krach
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein
Abstract
It is well established that recognition of a previously encountered stimulus can succeed in the absence of successful recollection of contextual detail about a specific past encounter, by way of a process known as familiarity assessment. The goal of the present talk is to review patient-based research and functional neuroimaging studies that have examined the role of medial temporal structures in this process. Our work has been guided by the hypothesis that mechanisms in extrahippocampal structures, including but not limited to perirhinal cortex (PRc), support item-based familiarity. I will review findings that speak to the process selectivity and material specificity of these mechanisms. I will also discuss a link to impressions of déjà vu, and show how mechanisms of familiarity assessment play a role in memory judgments for past experiences outside the laboratory.
Biosketch
Dr. Stefan Köhler is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and a Principle Investigator at the Brain and Mind Institute of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Köhler completed his undergraduate and Master’s degree in psychology at the Universität Bielefeld, Germany, and his doctorate degree in psychology and neuroscience at the University of Toronto. He subsequently engaged in several years of post-doctoral training at the Rotman Research Institute (Baycrest Centre) and at the Montreal Neurological Institute, where he worked with renowned scientist Dr. Brenda Milner. Dr. Köhler accepted his faculty appointment at Western University in 2000, and he became a full Professor in 2014. His research, which combines behavioural and functional neuroimaging methods, addresses the cognitive and neural mechanisms that support human memory. It also aims to improve the understanding of memory disorders in neurological disease
