The team

Position PI

I strive for a functional understanding of the neural mechanisms of auditory scene analysis. Current particular interests of the lab are spatial hearing under real-world circumstances, the role of context for predictive coding and goal-oriented behavior during active sensing, as well as studying the circuits of selective listening. A longstanding goal is to help improving the effectiveness and design of cochlear implants and other hearing aids.

Position Post-Doc www.dardoferreiro.com

Our brain interprets reality through our sensory systems, through active sensing. How this is done in terms of neuronal mechanisms is what I am most curious about, especially in early sensory areas of the cortex. I also believe that the best way forward in the study of neuroscience is with more complex, naturalistic experimental paradigms, and to compare across species. So I study freely moving gerbils and humans performing naturalistic tasks, to better understand the behavioural and neural basis of sensory perception, as well as decision making and social interaction. For more information please visit www.dardoferreiro.com

Position Postdoc

In the brain, building and maintenance of mental representations share mechanisms with spatial localization. Hearing plays a key role in spatial localization and enables to study not only the perception of complex sounds but also how this sensory modality is used in spatial encoding. The current goals are to use optogenetics to understand which areas of the brain are involved in spatial modulation in the primary auditory cortex.

Position PhD student

I study how neural processing of information for generating spatial sensitivity in the brain stem differs between normal acoustic and neuro-prosthetic stimulation by the use of cochlear implants.

Position PhD student

I am a trained economist turned neuroscience student. I work on developing a two-alternative forced choice paradigm in freely behaving animals to study the precedence effect. In the future, I aim to implement optogenetic manipulations during taks performance to probe the role of midbrain structures in the formation of localization dominance.

Position GSN Master student

During my bachelor’s thesis I have studied the sensitivity of freely behaving animals to duration differences in auditory cues. I am currently interested in how social interactions between animals during a perceptual discrimination task influence task learning.

Position GSN Master student

I am interested in developing quantitative behavioral analysis tools in the context of the Sensory Island Task. In my master’s thesis, I investigate state dependency during the performance of the task, correlating the animal’s behavior with data from electrophysiological recordings. Additionally, I collaborate in an ongoing project to study sound duration discrimination

Position Collaborator

Conde joined the lab in winter 2022 for a few months on a DFG stipend. He established a pipeline for assembly coding analyses of our neural data recorded during free exploration. While Conde has since moved on to a new position in Amsterdam, he will remain a dear collaborator and "honorary" group member

Position Honorary member / chief efficiency provider

;P

Graduated PhD student

Now Postdoc at the MPI for Neurobiology

Graduated PhD student

Now Medical Information Specialist in Newcastle upon Tyne

Graduated Master student

Graduated Master Student