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Toward a Neurobiologically Informed Framework for Modeling
Human Cognition
NIMH IBSC (Interdisciplinary Behavior Science Center)
P50-MH64445
Welcome to the web site for our Interdisciplinary Behavioral
Science Center. This site is intended as a public service
and as a focal point for exchange of ideas among the participants
in the IBSC. Public areas of the site provide information
about the Center as a whole (see below) and about the various
projects in the Center, as well as web-accessible documents
and tools that we are making available as a public service.
If you have comments or questions about this site or desire
further information about this IBSC, please send email to
ibsc-info@cnbc.cmu.edu.
Center Project Summary
This Interdisciplinary Behavioral Science Center seeks to develop a framework for understanding human cognition, grounded in principles specifying the character of human cognitive processes, and constrained by properties, of the underlying neural mechanisms. The Center will exploit this framework to guide formulation of explicit, testable models of normal and disordered cognition, including models of the development of cognitive functions and of their disintegration as a result of brain damage or disease. A fundamental tenet is that cognition is an emergent phenomenon, arising from the interactions of cooperating processing elements organized into specialized populations. One aim of the center will be to investigate the utility of explicit models that are formulated in terms of this approach, addressing many aspects of cognition including semantic knowledge, language processing, cognitive control, perception, learning and memory. A second aim will also investigate the principles that are embodied in the models, including principles of learning, processing and representation. Learning will be a central focus, since it plays a crucial role in cognitive development, acquisition of skills, formation of memories, and remediation of cognitive functions. A third aim of the Center will be to incorporate constraints from neuroscience. Findings from neuroscience will guide the specification of the principles and the formulation of domain-specific details of particular models, and will provide target experimental observations against which to assess the adequacy of the models. In addition, the Center will make use of neurophysiological methods in animals and functional brain imaging in humans to test predictions and generate additional data needed to constrain and inform model development. The Center will provide training funds for interdisciplinary research fellowships, to train junior scientists in the convergent use of behavioral, computational, and neuroscience methodologies. The outcome of the Center.s efforts will be a fuller characterization of the nature of human cognitive processes, a clearer formulation of the underlying principles, and a more complete understanding of normal and disordered functions across many domains of cognition.
Performance Sites:
Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC)
Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK
University College London, London, UK
Washington University, St. Louis, MO
University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
Key Personnel:
| Name | Organization | Role on Project |
| James L. McClelland | Carnegie Mellon/CNBC | Director |
| Jonathan D. Cohen | Princeton University | Senior Center Investigator |
| Maryellen C. MacDonald | Univ. of Wisconsin (Madison) | Senior Center Investigator |
| Carl R. Olson | Carnegie Mellon/CNBC | Senior Center Investigator |
| Karalyn Patterson | MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences | Senior Center Investigator |
| David C. Plaut | Carnegie Mellon/CNBC | Senior Center Investigator |
| Mark S. Seidenberg | Univ. of Wisconsin (Madison) | Senior Center Investigator |
| Cathy J. Price | Univ. College London | Senior Collaborative Investigator |
| Todd S. Braver | Washington University | Center Investigator |
| Carson C. Chow | Univ. of Pittsburgh/CNBC | Center Investigator |
| Julie A. Fiez | Univ. of Pittsburgh/CNBC | Center Investigator |
| Matthew A. Lambon-Ralph | Univ. of Manchester | Center Investigator |
| Tai Sing Lee | Carnegie Mellon/CNBC | Center Investigator |
| Michael S. Lewicki | Carnegie Mellon/CNBC | Center Investigator |
| Randall C. O.Reilly | Univ. of Colorado (Boulder) | Center Investigator |
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