This seminar will begin at 4:00 pm at the Jerome L. Greene Science Center on Columbia University’s Manhattanville campus (L7-119). Light refreshments will be available starting at 3:30 pm.

This month's speakers:

Shachar Maidenbaum, PhD, (Jacobs Lab): "Representation of direction and spatial memory in human neural oscillations and behavior"

How does the human brain represent direction and orientation? I will review the representation of space in humans, and present several new directional signals that we recently found in intracranial recordings. I will then discuss the potential mechanisms leading to these signals, their modulation by external perceptual input (e.g. fog) and by Augmented Reality, and their implications for diseases of spatial navigation and memory. 

Walter Fischler, PhD (Axel Lab): "Convergence of olfactory landmarks and path integration to create a cognitive spatial map"

This study reveals how odors can serve as landmarks to guide navigation. Our results establish how the hippocampus, a brain area important for spatial navigation, combines information about odors and self-motion to create a map of space. Our findings allowed us to define a process by which an odor can be recognized as a landmark and determine how this leads to improved navigation.

This seminar is part of the Zuckerman Institute Postdoctoral Seminar series. For questions about this or future seminars, please contact series organizers Helen Hou, PhD, or Amy Norovich, PhD.