Who are we?

We are a group of computational neuroscientists curious about the brain and how the symphony of neurons gives rise to the mind. Particularly, we are intrigued by how we visually perceive the world around us and how and why we remember our past experiences. Our group members come from a diverse set of backgrounds in engineering, neuroscience, and cognitive science.

What is the goal of our research?

Broadly, our goal is to understand the mechanisms underlying the visual perception and memory during goal-oriented tasks. We do so by building mechanistic models of these processes that can replicate the neural and behavioral observations made from animal models.

How do we do this research?

Broadly, our research consists of a perpetual cycle of model (hypothesis) validation and generation. Our focus is on predictive models of neurons and behavior in humans and other animals. We primarily use the class of artificial neural networks, and in particular memory-augmented neural networks to develop functional models of visual perception and memory. We use neuroimaging and behavioral experiments to validate model predictions on unseen observations.

Where are we located?

We are located in the department of Physiology at McGill university which is at the heart of the beautiful city of Montreal in Quebec, Canada.

Why do we do this research?

As the field of neuroscience moves towards more precise understanding of the brain at all levels, computational models are becoming a more essential part of this precise understanding. Crucially, these models can encapsulate our integral knowledge of the brain that might not be verbally expressive. Notably, they enable us to predict the outcomes of experiments and interventions and ultimately will allow us to regulate/control its responses.