Principal Investigator:

Didem Gökçay

Group Members:

Zeynep Başgöze , Serdar Baltacı, Kerem Çalışkan, Fatih Nar, Umut Orçun Turgut , Mete Balcı, Hande Kaynak, Selgun Yüceil

Information:

METU-NEURO Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Lab is involved in an array of research activities that range from cognitive task design and functional neuroanatomy to structural neuroanatomy. Researches of the group can be seen at http://brain.ii.metu.edu.tr/. The main area of focus in cognitive research is the interaction between cognition and emotion. Projects in this area are being conducted on healthy people, as well as patient populations with illness such as Parkinson’s and Major Depressive Disorder. In the technical projects, the major focus is on improved fMRI signal analysis and advanced shape morphology. The applications of these new methods in the functional domain focus on face perception, emotional conflict resolution, episodic memory and decision making, all of which have been known to have limbic underpinnings. The applications of the newly developed methods in the structural domain focus on the shape, volumetrics and tissue characteristics of specific structures such as Anterior Cingulate and Heschl's. Strong collaborations are established with several universities nationwide to share data and the results. METU-NEURO is also involved in two major courses: Neuroimaging and Functional Neuroanatomy. The course materials are supported with data from the lab and homework and hands-on activities are performed in the lab.