If each of the billion neurons composing the brain could generate its own sound, then, our sophisticated behaviour would be one in tune with the 'sound of music'. Although, it has long been known that each brain cell generates its own electrical activity, however, how this organises itself to facilitate behaviour, is still a matter of debate.
Although the decoding of brain activity to understand the neuroscience that facilitates behaviour and cognition still remains far from our understanding, the neural codes that include patterns of electrical activity have started to emerge. One approach to investigate such patterns involves simulating controlled behavioural scenarios during simultaneous recording of brain activity, via Electroencephalography (EEG).
At the University of Malta, research, coordinated by Professor Richard Muscat and conducted by Dr Nowell Zammit, uses similar methodological approaches and has led to the characterisation of a series of neural electrical codes that substantiate various behaviours, including working memory and attention.
This has also helped pinpoint the neural mechanisms that give rise to aberrant cognition and on the same lines establish novel objective markers for the diagnosis of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as in Attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Understanding how psychoactive drugs affect both these neural codes and the associated cognitive function will prove to be an important milestone in the evaluation and efficacy of psychoactive medication.
The research team would like to invite male adolescent participants to be part of our exciting Neuroscience research that investigates the brain mechanisms that give rise to particular forms of behaviour, conducted at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta. If your child is an adolescent between 12-16 years of age, the research team invites you to make contact Dr Nowell Zammit for more information.
Successful participants will be paid EUR 10 for a session of one and a half hours.