How does the brain encode incoming information to make sense of the world? 

Our research in this area focuses on dissecting the neural circuits underlying the processing of sensory information gathered from the sensory organs (the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin). 

Neuroscientists at SWC also study how the context of a given stimulus, and an animal’s behavioural state, influences perception.

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Research News

• Attention and running influence individual brain cells independently

• For communication between brain areas, milliseconds matter

• Unravelling long-range connections in the brain

• Sainsbury Wellcome Centre researchers reveal mouse and human eye movements share some important similarities

• Locomotion triggers changes in brain state and long distance communication

• Neurons that fire together, don’t always wire together

• Brain-wide tracing of single neurons reveals breadth of information transfer from visual cortex

• Neuroscientists identify brain circuit that integrates head motion with visual signals
   

How does the brain abstract knowledge from the world?

Our research in this area focuses on how the brain uses inferences to combine incoming information with memories and beliefs to generate internal models of the world. We are exploring how the brain dynamically updates these internal models of the world with external and internal information.

Research at SWC also focuses on understanding the underpinnings of intelligent behaviour by studying how the brain uses what it already knows to generalise to new scenarios that it has never previously encountered. 

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Research News

• Solving problems through replay in the brain

• Central tendency bias linked to short-term history effects

• Neuroscientists identify role of basolateral amygdala neurons

• Context-dependent neural codes: task-agnostic or task-specific?

• Exploring how the thalamus contributes to cognition
   

How does the brain use the knowledge it abstracts from the world to make decisions? 

Our research in this area covers both innate and learned decisions. Neuroscientists at SWC are studying how the brain computes decisions by using working memory, where information is stored for short periods, to integrate incoming information with prior knowledge.

We are also disentangling how the brain chooses the most favourable decision in a given moment by exploring the impact of context, including brain state, risk and uncertainty, and social environment. To help us understand how these flexible decisions are made in real life, we are studying natural behaviours such as foraging. 

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Research News

• Scientists explain how the brain encodes lottery values

• How the brain calculates a quick escape

• Working memory depends on reciprocal interactions across the brain

• New study uncovers brain circuits that control fear responses

• Decision-making using uncertain sensory evidence and temporal expectation

• Fright and flight: deciding when to escape
   

How does the brain learn from experience, make predictions about how to behave, and remember what it has learned? 

Research at SWC focuses on understanding different types of learning including statistical learning, where the brain finds and exploits meaningful patterns in the environment, and reinforcement learning, where the brain makes predictions based on previous outcomes. 

Our research also focuses on the theory of deep learning, a class of artificial neural network models that take inspiration from the brain. Neuroscientists at SWC are working closely with GCNU, to develop better learning algorithms, a fundamental goal in machine learning that has proven essential in real world applications.

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Research News

• Deciphering the brain’s prediction machine

• Structured exploration allows biological brains to learn faster than AI

• Learning to learn: sacrificing short-term reward for long-term gain

• Neuroscientists demonstrate flexibility of innate behaviour

• Mice choose best escape route without ever experiencing threat

• Does the brain recycle mechanisms for learning and attention?

• Equipping artificial intelligence with motivation

• Instinct and learning: two sides of the same coin

• Disentangling the interneuron web of learning
   

How does the brain set goals and transform information about the world into actions to achieve its plans? 

Our research in this area focuses on understanding purposeful behaviour. Neuroscientists at SWC are studying the neural circuits regulating motivation in pursuit of a goal, selection and sequencing of actions, and execution with the appropriate vigour to generate a coordinated behavioural response. 

Spatial navigation is a key focus area and we are exploring the role of memory, including both long-term memories for locations and short-term memories for ecologically significant information.

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Research News

• Brain circuit that converts spatial goals to escape actions discovered

• Honeycomb maze reveals role of hippocampus in navigation decisions

• Neuroscientists illuminate how brain cells ‘navigate’ in the light and dark

• Mouse-controlled mouse helps researchers understand intentional control

• Navigating to safety by memorising subgoals

• How does the brain accurately represent self-motion during navigation?

• High risk high reward: Neuroscientists discover the key to motivational behaviours

• Neuroscientists uncover sensory switches controlling infanticide and parental behaviour in mice

• How does the brain’s spatial map change when we change the shape of the room?

• Neuroscientists identify distinct circuits in the brain that maintain balance

• Honeycomb Maze offers significant improvement over current spatial navigation tests