The International School for Advanced Studies (known by its Italian acronym, SISSA) is the top-ranked Italian university according to the recent analysis of the National Committee for Evaluation of Research Quality. SISSA comprises eight sectors. The Tactile Perception and Learning Laboratory (TPLL) is within the Cognitive Neuroscience Sector.
Main tasks
The TPLL will play a major role in all aspects of BIOTACT dealing with the relation between neuronal activity and tactile sensation. This includes recording and analysis of neuronal signals from multiple brain regions during tactile discrimination tasks. TPPL will also be involved with the study of whisker motion and sensorimotor integration, and will be responsible for shared development of behavioural, physiological, and whisker-monitoring methods, and for preparing experimental data for modelling.
Research experience
TPLL was established in 1996. Its research has been aimed from the outset at understanding how brain activity gives rise to touch sensation and how tactile performance is modified by experience. One line of research uses the rat whisker sensory system while a second line of research uses the human fingertip sensory system to test the generality of findings from the animal research. Experimental work is guided by a strategy of full quantification, whereby computational methods such as information theory are continuously developed to provide the deepest possible treatment of physiological data.
