From Brain Dynamics to Cognition - Timescales Are Key

Abstract

Our environment is continuously changing with both gradual and rapid shifts. How does the brain adapt to and process such continuous change? And how does that shape cognition? Addressing these questions is the goal of my thesis. In the first project, I focus on neural dynamics and their relationship to behavior. I show how the brain’s intrinsic neural timescales mediate our sense of self and how that impacts our subsequent decision making. The second main project of my thesis extends the view beyond the relationship of neural dynamics and cognition by including the impact of the environmental dynamics (the temporal structure of stimuli) on the brain’s neural dynamics, the body’s physiological dynamics and cognitive functions. Using EEG and fMRI in three published papers, I demonstrate that the environmental dynamics modulate the brain’s power spectrum in corresponding frequency ranges, which in turn modulates performance in a Go-NoGo task and working memory. Taken together, these findings suggest that the brain’s neural dynamics, in their interplay with the environmental dynamics, strongly shape different forms of cognition like the self, decision making, sustained attention and working memory. This research offers a broader, direct connection between brain dynamics and cognitive function, aligning well with the recently established model of “Spatiotemporal Neuroscience”.