Project 2

Event-related potential studies of brain function.

Scalp-recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) reflect the brain’s electrical response to sensory, cognitive, and motor events.These averaged potentials are used to understand the nature of both normal and impaired brain function and are valuable tools for studying sensory, cognitive, and motor processes in the brain.We are using ERPs to examine various aspects of brain function, such as attention to sensory events and preparation of simple motor acts.We have some evidence that the preparation of simple movements executed by both the left and right hands is lateralised to cortical motor areas in the dominant (left) hemisphere of the brain.One project we would be keen to supervise is the application of mathematical modelling techniques to localise the underlying neural generators of this preparatory motor activity.These analyses will have important implications for our understanding of higher-order motor control in the brain.