Consciousness and awareness

Some research questions:

To what extent our brain process unconscious information?

What type of information can be processed unconsciously?

Representative studies:

  • Axelrod et al., 2015, Neural correlates of subliminal language processing, Cerebral Cortex (download)

  • Axelrod et al., 2015, Exploring the unconscious using faces. Trends in Cognitive Sciences (download)

  • Axelrod et al., 2017 Perceptual similarity and the neural correlates of geometrical illusions in human brain structure. Scientific Reports (download)

Self-related processing and mind-wandering

Some research questions:

What are the mechanisms of generating internal experiences (e.g., recalling events)?

Why do people mind-wander and what are the benefits of mind-wandering?

Representative studies:

  • Axelrod et al., 2017, The default network and the combination of cognitive processes that mediate self-generated thought. Nature Human Behavior (download)

  • Axelrod et al., 2015, Increasing propensity to mind wander with transcranial direct current stimulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (download)

Intracranial recordings in humans 

Multi-unit and Local field potential (LFP) activity is used to explore various cognitive functions (e.g., faces, self-related processing)

Representative study:

  • Axelrod et al., 2019, Face-selective neurons in the vicinity of the human Fusiform Face Area, Neurology (link)

Brain functional connectivity

Some research directions:

How do brain dynamics change across different cognitive tasks and different conscious states? 

How do brain functional mechanisms differ between healthy people and brain-impaired patients?

Face perception

Some research questions:

Is face perception is purely perceptual phenomenon?

What role frontal face-selective regions play in face perception?

Representative studies:

  • Axelrod, 2016 On the domain-specificity of the visual and non-visual face-selective regions. European Journal of Neuroscience

  • Axelrod & Yovel, 2015, Successful decoding of famous faces in the Fusiform Face Area. Plos One (download)

  • Axelrod & Yovel, 2012, Hierarchical Processing of Face Viewpoint in Human Visual Cortex. Journal of Neuroscience (download)

  • Axelrod & Yovel, 2010, External facial features modify the representation of internal facial features in the fusiform face area. Neuroimage (download)