Electroencephalography System for Sensory and Cognitive Neuroscience

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As we learn more about the brain, we understand how incredibly complex, yet exquisitely tuned, our neural systems are. Even for what seem to be simple tasks like recognizing a face, planning a hand movement, or focusing attention on a coffee cup, our brains engage billions of neurons working together across trillions of connections. In a system this complex, the timing of each action potential can be critical, with delays on the order of milliseconds leading to dramatic changes in perception, cognition, and motor behaviour. Fortunately, modern neuroscience can listen in on the neurons using techniques such as electroencephalography, which measures the electrical charges of large groups of neurons deep within the brain using a dense set of electrodes positioned comfortably on an individual's head. The Electroencephalography System for Sensory and Cognitive Neuroscience will enable four of Canada's leading researchers from McMaster's Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, to explore the ways in which neural signals drive our perception, cognition, and actions, and to make novel discoveries in sensory and cognitive neuroscience. The system will support five distinct NSERC research projects, and provide a cutting-edge, in-demand training ground for numerous undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and highly skilled technicians. By combining resources across research groups, the jointly-operated System also will foster new collaborations to enhance our knowledge of basic science, and will enable these researchers and their trainees to interact more easily with international collaborators and industry partners.