Charles R.E. Wilson

I study how the brain produces the sophisticated forms of cognition that allow human and macaque to achieve goals flexibly and efficiently. We use these capacities to adapt to and profit from our environment. My specific work focuses on the mechanisms at work in the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of cortex particularly developed in primate species. I study the ways in which different cortical regions interact with prefrontal cortex to produce flexible and efficient behaviour. Currently at SBRI I study whether and how cortical oscillations are implicated in these processes. Cortical oscillations are increasing thought to subserve interaction at different levels between assemblies in the brain. I study the changes in these oscillations and the related assemblies and during the early stages of Parkinson's disease. In a separate project, I am studying the very specific interactions of the anterior cingulate cortex with prefrontal cortex, as mediated by different neurotransmitter systems.