This two-week summer course offered by Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC) of the University of Amsterdam, will be presented by a host of international experts, including Mark T. Wallace (Vanderbilt Brain Institute) as Honorary Frijda Chair, and concluding with an exciting symposium revolving around the question whether multisensory integration should be viewed as a localized or distributed phenomenon.Combine inputsPerception and action fundamentally depend on the integration of information originating from different sensory modalities. Our brain needs to combine inputs from different senses to make accurate judgments about what is happening in the world around us, and how to act on these events. Without this integration, brain representations would lack the qualitative richness characteristic of conscious experience.In extreme form, multisensory integration leads to synesthesia: inputs from one sensory modality gives rise to sensations in another modality, such as seeing colors in response to hearing tones in a piece of music. Research over the past decades has converged to suggest that, indeed, perception is a fundamentally multimodal phenomenon.Neural basesIn this summer course, we will pay attention both to psychological and psychophysical manifestations of multisensory integration and synesthesia, as well as to their neural bases. Neuroanatomical substrates underlying integration will be discussed, as well as research on neurophysiological coding mechanisms, computational models and neuroimaging studies. Topics of special interest include the genesis of multisensory interactions and synesthesia during development, the functional connectivity of brain areas mediating these interactions, and the role of electrophysiological rhythms for communication between different modalities.>> For questions and to register for the course, please send an e-mail to Silke van Beekum at s.m.vanbeekum@uva.nl

Course leader
prof dr Cyriel Pennartz and dr Romke Rouw

Target group
The Summer School is open to master's students in fields relating to cognitive (neuros)science, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, medicine etc. Candidates in PhD programs related to these fields are also welcome to apply.

Course aim
Through lectures and workgroups, participants of the summer course will explore current research surrounding this topic and develop their own research proposal.

Fee info
EUR 600: For more information on Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, please check abc.uva.nl/

Scholarships
Scholarships are available to students from certain universities. Please see the UvA Summer School website for further details.

University of Amsterdam
Address: Spui 21
Postal code: 1012 WX
City: Amsterdam
Country: Netherlands
Website: http://www.uva.nl/summerschool
E-mail: info-summerschool@uva.nl
Phone: +31205258080