Research Talk

15.01.2026

Resolving and modelling spatiotemporal neural dynamics in human vision

Speaker:
Radek M. Cichy, PhD (Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Freie Universität Berlin)

Venue:
MB 7/159

Starting time:
2:00 pm

Abstract:
Understanding the neural mechanisms of human vision requires answering three questions: what is happening where and when in the brain when we see? The talk has three parts, each part aiming to answer one or several of these questions in humans using non-invasive techniques and modelling. In each part I will present a recent empirical study, and sketch further ongoing or future research, inviting input and collaboration. The first study (Carricarte et al., 2025) determined the neural dynamics of feedforward versus feedback information flow in low and high-level visual cortex using cortical layer-specific 7T fMRI and EEG. The second study (Xie et al., 2022) resolved visual information flow in 6-months-olds, and compared it to adults, using EEG. We observe that through development, responses get faster, have a spectral basis of higher frequency, and are of higher feature complexity. The third study (Rong et al., 2025) modelled visual EEG responses using a combination of visual deep neural networks and large language models. This approach outperforms the current state-of-the-art approaches in predictive accuracy.