„Development of hemispheric specialization and communication – a model of ontogenetic plasticity “

It is the aim of this research project to understand how two (specialized) brain hemispheres communicate to enable adaptive decisions and behavioural control and how gene-environment interactions during ontogeny shape the underlying intra- and interhemispheric processes. We use the asymmetrically organized visual system of pigeons as a model to investigate the impact of the environmental factor light by comparing lateralization pattern of pigeons with and without embryonic light experience. Tasks investigating response selection in conflict situations (metacontrol) enable us to probe the relevance of intra- and interhemispheric processes. The underlying neuronal mechanisms will be investigated by by optogenetic manipulation of critical forebrain areas.

Neural Plasticity is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal that publishes articles related to all aspects of neural plasticity, with special emphasis on its functional significance as reflected in behaviour and in psychopathology. Related to the general aim of the journal, we planned a Special Issue to better understand how genes and environment interact to mediate normal or impaired cognitive development. A combination of multidisciplinary research from different fields of animal and human research may elucidate synergistic effects of different factors and their adaptive advantages. Call of papers Neural plasticity

You will also find the Call for Papers for this Special Issue on the journal’s website here:

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/NP/si/148757/cfp/

Find information about the meeting here:http://www.brainevolution2018.de/

Martina contributes to the recently launched Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior (Springer) dealing with key areas of animal cognition and comparative psychology. Martina wrote the chapter about Visual Search presenting a comprehensive overview of characteristics and experimental approaches and models trying to explain this basic, pivotal cognitive function.

Manns M. (2018) Visual Search. In: Vonk J., Shackelford T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1514-1

https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6

courtesy: Andreas Molatta

At the fifth of June, Martina participated in a funny and illuminative panel trying to unravel the secrets of football player’s skills. Who is the perfect player in a team? Everybody has a favorite and can tell innumerous anecdotes to justify this choice. But can we scientifically analyze the performance of players and do we want this at all?  The author and first “cultural football worker” Benn Redelings, the duo of Base Analytics Michael Senske & Patrick Balzerowski and the cultural journalist Tom Thelen as the moderator discuss all these urgent topics. Martina contributes her expertise in cognitive neuroscience to explain game intelligence.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1705259012885207/

https://www.univercity-bochum.de/angebot/talk-reihe-stadtexperimentierraum