Hybrid Colloquium: Cerebellar contributions to visual attention and working memory

Abstract:

The amount of sensory information we receive at any one moment far outstrips our brain’s ability to process this information. We can effortlessly withstand this deluge of sensory input due to our ability to prioritize and maintain the subset of information within our environment that is most relevant to our behavioral goals. Attention and working memory, the processes that enable this prioritization and maintenance, are thought to be supported by a network of cerebral cortical areas spanning visual, parietal, and frontal cortices. The cerebellum, a subcortical structure typically associated with the coordination of motor actions, has not been traditionally implicated in attention and working memory. In this talk, I will present evidence from a series of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and psychophysical experiments for a cerebellar role in visual attention and working memory processes. In particular, I will present the findings of a recent study that examines whether the cerebellum encodes motor-independent stimulus-specific representations of items maintained in working memory. I will further discuss recent behavioral and eye-tracking work aimed at testing the hypothesis that the cerebellum is critical for the adaptive control of visual attention and working memory processes. https://lsa.umich.edu/psych/people/research-fellows-2/james-brissenden.html