Tzvia Pinkhasov 
B.S. Stony Brook University
2nd year MSTP
Rotation Advisor: Il Memming Park
Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Stony Brook University
Title: Neural encoding and decoding in the macaque MT
Abstract:
Simultaneous recordings of large neural populations, made possible by recent technological advancements, provide the opportunity to analyze neural datasets from a theoretical perspective. Statistical modeling is becoming increasingly relevant to the effort of understanding the relationship between neuronal activity and behavior. This summer, I used point process analysis to represent spike train data from area MT of the extrastriate visual cortex of macaque monkeys recorded from individual neurons during a behavioral discrimination task. Variability in individual neuronal activity under constant stimulus conditions is positively correlated with the monkeys’ behavioral choice, which demonstrates the direct role neurons in the MT play in the monkey’s decision-making. I also used the autoregressive model, a linear time-series, in order to estimate parameters of the mean population firing rate conditioned on different aspects of the stimulus.
Publications:
Muratori, L.M., Schedel, M., Weymouth, D., Pinkhasov, T., Loomis, J., Morris, I.B., and Vasudevan, E.. Sonification of Gait to Create Real-Time Auditory Feedback for People with Parkinson’s Disease. International Symposium on Computer Music Multidisciplinary Research. Plymouth, UK. June 2015.
