The DULCE project aims to understand the dynamics underlying learning in complex environments. Can you explain?

Learning and adaptation are essential for navigating a changing world, but we still don’t fully understand the brain mechanisms that support these flexible behaviors. New technology allows us to monitor large groups of neurons, in multiple brain regions during complex tasks, yet we lack the tools to interpret this data. On the other hand, we have new theoretical principles for task learning in artificial neural networks, but it is not clear how well they describe learning in the brain. DULCE aims to fill this gap by developing theoretical frameworks and data-driven tools to understand how neural population dynamics distributed across multiple brain regions are able to coordinate to enable learning in complex environments, beyond the traditional lab setting.


What does this ERC grant mean to you and this project?

Obtaining an ERC grant gives me the stability and support I need to plan and carry out this research plan by leading a team of researchers tackling this question from many angles. I'm honored to have received it and I can't wait to get started!

For more information on Alex Cayco's research