Computation and Cognition, Philosophy · Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Investigating perception and how the brain
constructs representations of the world.
I am a second year undergraduate in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I study the neural basis of cognition, with a particular focus on abstraction, inference, working memory, attention, and decision-making. This summer, I am studying object and event perception with Perception & Mind Lab under the guidance of Dr. Chaz Firestone. I currently work with the Miller and Jazayeri Labs at MIT. I began my research career under the careful mentorship of the Shushruth Lab at the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognititon at CMU and the University of Pittsburgh.
I combine electrophysiology and computational modeling to understand how the brain regulates and enacts cognition.
Using your knowledge of statistical regularities to make better judgements. Recording from large populations of neurons across brain regions to understand cortical control in primates .
Developing statisical methods to understand how neural dynamics, like oscillatory brain rhythms, contribute to cognition and consciousness. Evidencing unconsciousness from general anesthesia is due to altering brain waves and increasing brain chaos.
Understanding how abstract properties of sensory information (say, the color of an object or its direction of motion) are stored and used to guide actions.
O. Odebode, “The Brain as a Computer: Meaningful Information from Meaningless Computation" 24.09 - Minds and Machines, Paper.
O. Odebode, “A Topographic Map of Sensory, Motor, and Memory Neurons in the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex" Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair, Poster, Presentation.
O. Odebode, S. Shushruth. “Are Perceptual Decisions Influenced by Working Memory?” Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair, Poster, Paper, Presentation.
Prospective mentors, collaborators, and peers; please reach out.