Last PSU Peace Corps Events of the Semester

     

The semester may be winding down, but there is still another chance to connect with a recruiter and Returned Volunteers before you leave campus. Join us at any of the events below to learn more about the Peace Corps and how it best fits into your life! Info Session – Life After THON! – Tuesday, 4/7, 5:30-6:30 pm 103 BOA Career Services Learn how you can make a difference on a global scale! Study Abroad to Work Abroad - Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Panel – Wednesday, 4/8, 5:30 pm 234 BOA Career Services Come speak with PSU RPCVs about their experiences studying and working abroad! PSU Education Abroad staff will be present to answer questions about study abroad opportunities - don't miss this event! Around the World Potluck – Tuesday, 4/14, 6-8 pm 103 BOA Career Services Don’t miss our annual ‘Send-off’ Party celebrating those who are heading off to service. Come enjoy host country dishes made by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers! Mark your calendar and take the first step in launching your international career!

IST Distinguished Lecture - April 10

Stephen José Hanson:
Brain Reading in the Human Visual Pathways: Why there is no FACE area in the brain


 Friday, April 10, 2015, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. 113 IST Building (Cybertorium) 


In this talk, I will present some basics of fMRI methods, and provide a tutorial context for the acquisition of the MR signal which will allow us to critically examine the evidence for a FACE area in the brain. Using the new methods for "brain reading" developed jointly with the Haxby Lab (MPVA/PD), we will show that the so called FFA is not sensitive to faces, per se; Nor is it homogenous in its stimulus response properties (even at very high spatial resolution); Nor is it independent in its function relative to the other areas of the brain that comprise an identifiable network which appears to do something other than "FACE" identification. In fact, we will show that the highly distributed nature of the computation in temporal lobe and throughout cortex is unlikely to support anything like a local module for a specific concept or category. Nonetheless, once the distributed encoding is properly decoded, basic categorical distinctions in the temporal cortex, such as Animacy, can be revealed.