Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab - Rochester

🚨 Rethinking one of neuroscience’s core assumptions: is attention really symmetric?

A new preprint from our teams at the University of Rochester and Albert Einstein College of Medicine suggests the answer is no—and the implications are profound.

In this study, led by Megan Darrell, Theo Vanneau, Chloe Brittenham, Johnny Foxe and Sophie Molholm, we show that human spatial attention is governed by fundamentally different neural control systems depending on direction of attention.

Using EEG and pupillometry in adolescents, we demonstrate:

• Leftward attention engages a classic oscillatory control architecture—slow frontal theta coordinating posterior alpha/beta to gate sensory processing

• Rightward attention relies on a distinct mechanism—faster theta directly modulating early sensory gain (P1), without coordinated alpha dynamics

• These differences are task-evoked, not baseline, and strengthen with development

Perhaps most strikingly, this work challenges the long-standing assumption that attentional control is implemented symmetrically across hemispheres.

Instead, attention appears to be:

✔ Rhythmic

✔ Phase-dependent

❗ Fundamentally asymmetric

This opens up new avenues for understanding developmental trajectories of attention—and may have important implications for clinical populations where attentional control is disrupted.

🙏 Supported by the Simons Foundation and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

📄 Read the full preprint here:

Just a moment...

🧠 Are we on the verge of treating neurodevelopmental disorders? 🧠

Dr. Xinyu Zhao from the University of Wisconsin–Madison joins Dr. John Foxe to discuss how brain organoids—tiny, 3D models of human brain tissue grown from stem cells—are revolutionizing research into autism, Fragile X, and Rett syndrome.

From understanding developmental milestones in a dish to the future of personalized stem cell therapy, this conversation explores the cutting edge of neuroscience. 💡

Watch the full episode to learn how these breakthroughs are shaping the future of medicine!

👇 Watch Here 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY7Xy72t09Q

www.youtube.com

For years, scientists thought the brain learned by simplifying information from the world around us. But new research from the University of Rochester suggests learning may actually depend on something more sophisticated: neurons constantly combining what the brain sees with what it expects.

“It’s a bit like a group of people solving a problem,” says Professor Adam Snyder. “Instead of everyone working in isolation as efficiently as possible, learning makes them communicate more. That shared information makes each individual better informed and potentially makes the group more flexible and adaptive.”

These findings from graduate student Shizhao Liu and professors Snyder and Ralf Haefner are challenging long-standing neuroscience theory and could reshape how scientists think about perception, learning disorders, and artificial intelligence.

| https://uofr.us/47BnDaC

What the Developing Brain Could Reveal About Autism In this episode of Neuroscience Perspectives, we speak with Dr. Shafali Jeste, an internationally recognized child neurologist whose research has advanced th...

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NEW LAB COLLABORATION PAPER OUT TODAY 🧠🤝

A decade of insights from the ABCD Study reveals how **brain development, environment, genetics, and context interact** to shape adolescent mental health. This large-scale, longitudinal synthesis highlights why risk and resilience are **multivariate, nonlinear, and developmentally dynamic**—and how this knowledge can guide prevention and intervention. 📊🌱

Proud collaboration across institutions advancing developmental neuroscience and mental health science.
Center for Visual Science at the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
Johnny Foxe

www.sciencedirect.com