TDLC Researcher Leanne Chukoskie Wins Qualcomm Seed Grant to Develop "NeuroGaming Center at UC San Diego"

The Qualcomm Institute at UC San Diego has given grants to 35 new projects that are part of the institute's Calit2 Strategic Research Opportunities (CSRO) program. The aim is to build clusters in brain, medical, and robotics research. Among the 35 winning proposals is TDLC researcher Leanne Chukoskie's project to develop a "NeuroGaming Center at UC San Diego". More

TDLC Researchers Advocate for
Science of Learning in Washington DC

During the week of Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Washington DC this past November, TDLC scientists and trainees met with various elected officials and federal agency leadership to advocate for support for Science of Learning research, training, translation and STEM education and diversity initiatives. As the SLC program sunsets in 2016, we want to encourage elected officials, Congressional committee members, and agency leadership to continue support for this type of research, training and translation programming in the future. The National Science Foundation’s initial investment in this group of researchers and students/trainees has grown beyond expectation, has yielded tremendous scientific breakthroughs and benefits, and it is important to continue and build upon this success! More

TDLC To Host iSLC 2015!

Each year, students and post docs from all six National Science Foundation Science of Learning Centers (SLCs) come together at the iSLC Conference to share their knowledge with each other in their quest to develop a transdisciplinary science of learning. This year, as in 2012, TDLC has been chosen to host the event. The conference gives early career researchers the opportunity to expand their networks and establish relationships with researchers at other SLCs, promoting cross-Center collaborations and the development of a shared vocabulary. Participants attend two days of scientific discussions, networking activities, poster sessions, and oral presentations. Click here to read highlights from iSLC 2012!

The Magic of Music

Team Assembled by Scott Makeig Wins $300K President's Research Catalyst Award (Dec. 10, 2014)

UC President Janet Napolitano announced the first five recipients, chosen from a pool of almost 200 proposals. Dr. Makeig's project brings together "UC experts on music listening, performance, neuroscience, brain imaging and data science to understand the transformative potential of music for health and cognition." More

Dart NeuroScience - TDLC Seminar Series Going Strong!

The generosity of Dart NeuroScience, LLC, has allowed us to launch our NEW 2014-2015 academic Seminar Series. Winter Quarter Speakers will include Gyorgy Buzsaki (NYU), Terry Jernigan (UCSD), John O’Keefe (UCL), Janet Wiles (UQueensland), Terry Sejnowski (Salk). Many thanks to our Fall Quarter Speakers James McClelland (Stanford), Garrison Cottrell (UCSD), Alexander Khalil (UCSD), Douglas Nitz (UCSD), and Patricia Churchland (Salk). The Seminar Series continues through August 26, 2015, with seminars being held each month, every other Wednesday from 3:00 - 4:00 PM/PST, at the Sanford Consortium/Duane J. Roth Auditorium, in La Jolla, California. Talks will also be broadcast by Webinar, with archived webinars available on the TDLC website after the events.

TDLC Investigator April Benasich and her Team Have Found a Way to Boost Listening Skills in Infants as Young as Four Months Old

TDLC's April Benasich, Director of the Infancy Studies Laboratory at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, and her colleagues at Rutgers University have found a way to boost listening skills in babies by rewarding them for paying attention to tiny bursts of sound. Their study, recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience, describes a series of 8-10 minute experiments performed with babies ages four to seven months old that help babies organize the brain pathways that will help them perceive language. Read the publication! Additional articles:

• Listen up, baby! Rutgers research boosts listening skills of infants
• Improving Babies’ Language Skills Before They’re Even Old Enough To Speak (RedOrbit, 10/2/14)
  
• Plasticity in Developing Brain: Active Auditory Exposure Impacts Prelinguistic Acoustic Mapping (Journal of Neuroscience)
  
  
  

TDLC Investigator Marian Bartlett, PhD, Co-Founder & Lead Scientist of Emotient, gave a TEDx talk on October 11, 2014, at the Transformation Through Us event held at San Diego State University.

Dr. Bartlett spoke about Emotion Aware Machines. Computers that can recognize emotions will transform the way people interact with technology, enabling richer connections between man and machine. Dr. Bartlett demonstrated novel technology that can recognize facial expressions in real-time, using any standard camera. Imagine machines that can predict our intentions. By measuring facial expression, we have access to the emotions that drive our decisions.