For our ancient ancestors learning was necessary for survival. Will these berries make me ill? Which birdcalls announce the approach of a tiger? Millennia have passed, but to be a successful, or at least an adequate human, we still need learn about the world. Even trivial tasks such as calling the elevator require learning – making a mental connection between two events separate in time. How is the brain able to create these connections, which can happen either seconds, minutes, or even hours apart? Are there neural clocks ticking away somewhere inside our brains drawing invisible lines between cause and effect?
Read more about our research HERE
Main Interests
How the brain learns to do and when to do it
Methods
Behaviour, Neurobiology, Molecular biology and Mathematical modelling
Models and Regions
Rodents, Basal Ganglia, Thalamus, Frontal areas of Cerebral Cortex
Want to join our lab?
CHECK FOR OPPORTUNITIESAFFILIATION
Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown
Avenida Brasília, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal
T (+351) 210 480 200
joe.paton(at)research.fchampalimaud.org
FUNDING
