Graduate Program in Neuroscience

Comparing the performance of humans and 3D-convolutional neural networks in material perception using dynamic cues

Mehrzadfar, Hossein (Bilkent University, 2019-08)

There are numerous studies on material perception in humans. Similarly, there are various deep neural network models that are trained to perform different visual tasks such as object recognition. However, the intersection ...

Effect of visual stimuli with fearful emotional cue on population receptive field estimates

Yılmaz, Cemre (Bilkent University, 2019-07)

Previous studies showed that the content of stimulus might affect the results of population receptive field (pRF) estimation method [1, 2, 3]. In addition, emotion might modulate visual processing in humans by increasing ...

Temporal and spatial nonlinearities in FMRI BOLD response in human primary visual cortex

Benar, Cem (Bilkent University, 2019-08)

It is generally assumed that fMRI BOLD response (i.e., functional magnetic resonance imaging blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal) is linear and time-invariant. In this study, we investigated spatial and temporal ...

Mapping human visual cortex with population receptive field model: tuning FMRI and stimulus parameters, and exploring receptive field sizes

Erkat, O. Batuhan (Bilkent University, 2019-07)

Human visual cortex has been studied extensively since blood oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal was discovered by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) researchers in 1990's [1]. It was not long after that, the researchers ...

Task difficulty and expertise mediate the effects of roving on perceptual performance

Ceylan, Gizay (Bilkent University, 2019-02)

Experience-dependent improvement of perception, known as perceptual learning, is possible in the absence of feedback, but feedback enables faster progress as demonstrated by both unsupervised and supervised learning ...

EEG correlates of audiovisual associations in motion perception

Benlialper, Gaye (Bilkent University, 2018-12)

The process of associative learning has been considered to be one of the promising research areas in neuroscience to understand human perception, sensory plasticity, and multisensory integration that affects the way of ...

Reciprocal influences of interpretation and attentional biases to health-related information

Elhamiasl, Mina (Bilkent University, 2018-10)

Cognitive processing biases to health-related information have been endorsed to be present in patients who are su ering from medical diseases. Attentional bias is one of the cognitive processes which facilitates the ...

The role of contrast and size in motion perception: behavioral and neuroimaging study of center-surround interactions in primary visual cortex (V1) and middle temporal area (MT+)

Er, Görkem (Bilkent University, 2018-10)

Behavioral experiments have demonstrated that observers' ability to discriminate the drift direction of a grating improves as its size increases if the grating has a low contrast, and deteriorates if it has a high contrast ...

Co-expression pairs and modules (CoEX-PM): a shiny application and an example case study on chromogranins

Kaya, Tuğberk (Bilkent University, 2018-09)

Gene expression signatures have been proved to be effective biomarkers of tumorigenesis and metastasis especially when alternative methods are inconvenient or ineffective. Nevertheless, handling very large datasets obtained ...

Arithmetic and temporal transformations of working memory activation in subjects prone to psychosis

Baş, Timuçin (Bilkent University, 2018-09)

Working memory (WM) deficit is a well-studied cognitive impairment in psychosis which is stemming from various developmental abnormalities containing neurobiological heterogeneity. Recently, many studies have concluded ...

Analysis of movement disorder-related genes following knockdowns of ANO10, WDR81, and VLDLR in zebrafish (DANIO RERIO)

Şengül, Göksemin Fatma (Bilkent University, 2018-07)

Movement Disorders are the neurological symptoms that cause alterations in normal motility, posture and muscle tone. Certain brain areas, such as the cerebellum, mediate correct motor control and functioning. When defects ...

Haptic and visual dimensions of perceived softness

Üstün, Fatma Seyhun (Bilkent University, 2017-10)

Exploring the environment with our senses is a prerequisite to successfully and efficiently interact with it. Our senses provide information about what material objects and surfaces are made of and help us to stay clear ...

Development of bioactive peptide nanofibers for intervertebral disc regeneration

Uysal, Özge (Bilkent University, 2017-08)

Lower back pain (LBP) and neck problems are the most common orthopedic diseases worldwide, and the main reason behind LBP is intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). Therefore, specialized therapeutic applications to induce ...

Investigation of spontaneous differentiation of neural stem cells on synthetic scaffolds

Uyan, İdil (Bilkent University, 2017-08)

Despite the increasing incidents of brain injuries and neurodegenerative diseases, a definitive clinical therapy for these conditions has not been found yet. Nervous system injuries result in loss of neural cells, causing ...

Identification and characterization of exonic variants related with familial essential tremor

Tuncay, İslam Oğuz (Bilkent University, 2017-07)

Essential tremor (ET) is the most common movement disorder in humans. Despite its high heritability and frequency, the genetic basis and pathophysiology of ET is not well understood. In this study, whole exome sequencing ...

Investigating the effects of bioactive peptide nanofibers on the growth and differentiation behaviour of nervous system cells

Yılmaz, Canelif (Bilkent University, 2017-08)

Peripheral nerve regeneration is a tightly regulated process that entails the degeneration, proliferation, alignment and remyelination of Schwann cells. Tuning the bioactivity is important to support all of these processes ...