Andrea Alamia

Andrea Alamia

CNRS researcher in Computational Neuroscience. PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience.

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The team works on Computational Neuroscience using different approaches, ranging from experimental (EEG, pupillometry, psychophysics) to computational methods (spiking and deep networks, ODEs).

Our current main goal is to understand the role of brain oscillations and travelling waves within the Predictive Coding framework. The key idea is to understand whether Predictive Coding can be a unifying framework to describe the role of travelling waves in distinct cognitive functions.

We aim to address this question via multiscale, computational models based on Predictive Coding principles to characterize the role of oscillatory waves in cognition.

One goal is to move the field toward a more integrative and holistic interpretation of brain dynamics: the core idea is to apply the same principles at different scales to explain distinct cognitive functions.
Another outcome of our approach is to interpret oscillations as travelling waves, considering both their temporal and spatial dimensions.

Most of the current work is supported by the European ERC Starting grant ‘OSCI-PRED’, started in March 2023.
Abstract: « One of the most exciting yet puzzling questions in Neuroscience is how the brain coordinates the activity between different areas, integrating distinct representations into conscious percepts and thoughts. For decades neuroscientists have investigated how the brain orchestrates diverse regions’ activity, pointing at oscillations as one of the key mechanisms involved in such a process. However, previous research has mainly focused on the temporal aspect of oscillatory dynamics, largely overlooking how oscillations propagate through the brain. Although rhythmic traveling waves have recently gained renewed interest, their functional role and relation to cognitive functions remain largely unknown. In this project, I will address this fundamental question: what is the role of oscillatory traveling waves in brain dynamics? I plan to take on this challenge using a multiscale computational approach, modeling neural dynamics within and between cortical regions, as well as cortical-thalamic interactions. Importantly, the novelty of this approach consists in framing the model in the light of Predictive Coding principles, to test the compelling yet striking hypothesis that traveling waves encode Predictions and Prediction-Errors. The results of the simulations will be compared against experimental recordings in human participants to validate and assess the model’s predictions. Lastly, some implementations will turn into deep learning architectures, to test their dynamics in visual tasks while improving current models of artificial vision. All in all, this proposal can significantly advance our understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms involved in sensory and cognitive functions, testing whether and how oscillatory traveling waves are a critical mechanism in neural dynamics, and producing fundamental results in the scientific field and future technological applications. »

Publications

  • Alamia A., VanRullen R. (2023) “A travelling waves perspective on temporal binding” Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 1-9
  • Alamia A., Lucie Terral, Malo Renaud D’ambra., VanRullen R. (2023) “Distinct role of forward and backward alpha-band waves in spatial attention” Elife 12, e85035
  • Alamia A., Mozafari M., Choksi M., VanRullen R. (2023) “On the role of feedback in visual processing: a predictive coding perspective” Neural Networks 157, 280-287
  • Vaishnav M., Cadene R., Alamia A., D Linsley, VanRullen R., Serre T.(2022) “Understanding the computational demands underlying visual reasoning” Neural Computation
  • Van Bree S., Alamia A., Zoefel B. (2022) “Oscillations or not- why we can and need to know” European Journal of Neuroscience
  • Choksi M., Mozafari M., O’May C., Ador B., Alamia A., VanRullen R. (2021) “Predify: augmenting deep neural networks with brain-inspired predictive coding dynamics” Advances in Neural Information Processing System 34, (NeurIPS)
  • VanRullen R., * Alamia A. (2021) “GattaNet: Global agreement for convolutional neural networks” ICANN2021
  • Alamia A., Luo C., Ricci M., Kim J., Serre T., VanRullen R. (2020) “ Differential involvement of EEG oscillatory components in sameness vs. spatial-relation visual reasoning tasks” eNeuro 10.1523/ENEURO .0267-20.2020
  • Luo C., VanRullen R., Alamia A. (2021) “Conscious perception modulates perceptual echoes” Neuroscience of Consciousness
  • Alamia A., Gauducheau V., Paisios D., VanRullen R. (2020) “Comparing feedforward and recurrent neural network architecture with human behavior in Artificial Grammar Learning” Scientific Reports 10(1), 1-15
  • Alamia A., Timmermann C., Nutt D.J., VanRullen R., Carhart-Harris R. (2020) “DMT alters cortical travelling waves” eLife 9, e59784
  • Pang Z., Alamia A., VanRullen R. (2020) “Turning the stimulus on and off changes the direction of alpha travelling waves” eNeuro , 7(6), ENEURO.0218-20.2020
  • Choksi M., Mozafari M., O’May C., Ador B., Alamia A., VanRullen R. (2020) “Brain-inspired predictive coding dynamic improve the robustness of deep neural networks” 2nd SVRHM Workshop, NeurIPS 2020
  • Alamia A., VanRullen R. (2019) “Alpha oscillations and travelling waves: signatures of predictive coding?” PLOSBiology , 17(10), e3000487
  • Alamia A., VanRullen R., Pasqualotto E., Mouraux A., Zenon A. (2019) “Pupil responds to unconscious surprisal”. Journal of Neuroscience , 3010-18
  • Alamia A., Zenon A., VanRullen R., Duque J.,Derosiere G..(2019) “Unconscious perceptual cues drive oscillatory activity in the motor cortex during action selection “. Neuroimage , 186, 424-436
  • Alamia A., Solopchuk O., Zenon A. (2018) “Strong conscious cues suppress preferential gaze allocation to unconscious cues”. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience , 12:427.
  • Filibrich L., Halicka M., Alamia A., Legrain V. (2018) “Investigating the spatial characteristic of the cross-modal interaction between nociception and vision using gaze direction”. Consciousness and Cognition 57, 106-115
  • Filibrich L., Alamia A., Burns S., Legrain V., (2017) “Orienting attention in visual space by nociceptive stimuli: investigation with a temporal order judgment task based on the adaptive PSI method”. Experimental Brain Research ,235(7), 2017
  • Derosiere G., Zenon A., Alamia A., Duque J., (2017) “Primary motor cortex contributes to the implementation of implicit value-based rules during motor decisions”. Neuroimage , 2016, Oct 11
  • Vanderclausen C.,Filibrich L., Alamia A., Legrain V. (2017) “Investigating peri-limb interaction between nociception and vision using spatial depth “. Neuroscience letters 654, 111-116
  • Filibrich L., Alamia A., Blandiaux S., Burns S., Legrain V. (2017) “Shaping visual space perception through bodily sensations: testing the impact of nociceptive stimuli on visual perception in peripersonal space with temporal order judgment task”. Plos One, 12(8)
  • Filibrich L., Alamia A., Verfaille C.,Berquin A., Barbier O., Libouton X.,Fraselle V., Mouraux D., Legrain V. (2017) “Biased visuospatial perception in complex Regional Pain Syndrome “. Scientific Report 7(1), 9712
  • Solopchuk O.,Alamia A., Dricot L., Duque J., Zenon A. (2017) “cTBS distruption of the Supplementary Motor Area perturbs sequence representation but not performance “. Neuroimage 163, 34-40
  • Alamia A., de Xivry J.J., Anton E., Olivier E., Cleeremans A., Zenon A. (2016) “Unconscious associative learning with conscious cues”. Neuroscience of Consciousness 1-10.
  • Alamia A., Solopchuk O., D’Ausilio A., Van Bever V., Olivier E., Zenon A. (2016) “Disruption of Broca’s Area Alters Higher-order Chunking Processing during Perceptual Sequence Learning”. Journal of cognitive neuroscience. Vol 28, N°3, p.402-417.
  • Alamia A., Solopchuk O., Olivier E., Zenon A. (2016) “Non-parametric algorithm to isolate chunks in response sequences “. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 10:177.
  • Alamia A., Zenon A. (2016) “Statistical Regularities Attract Attention when Task-Relevant”. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10:42.
  • Solopchuk O.,Alamia A., Zenon A. (2016) “The Role of the Dorsal Premotor Cortex in Skilled Action Sequences “. Journal of Neuroscience 36,(25) 6599-6601
  • Solopchuk O.,Alamia A., Olivier E., Zenon A. (2016) “Chunking improves symbolic sequence processing and relies on working memory gating mechanisms “. Learning and Memory 23, p.108-112
  • Torta D., Tatu M.K., Cotroneo D., Alamia A., Folegatti A., Trojan J. (2016) “Prism adaptation contrasts perceptual habituation for repetitive somatosensory stimuli”. Acta Psychologica
  • Zenon A., Klein PA., Alamia A., Boursoit F., Wihelm E., Duque J. (2015) “Increased Reliance on Value-based Decision Processes Following Motor Cortex Disruption”. Brain Stimulation 8(5):957-964.
  • Zenon A., Corneil B.D., Alamia A., Filali-Sadouk N., Olivier E. (2014) “Counterproductive Effect of Saccadic Suppression during Attention Shifts”. PLoS ONE 9(1):e86633.