Oscar Woolnough
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
McGovern Medical School
Department of Neurosurgery
My research utilizes human intracranial recordings to investigate the neural representations that underpin our ability to read. The high spatiotemporal resolution of intracranial recordings allows the tracking of the dynamic spread of information across the brain’s surface, the interactions between multiple functional neural hubs, and the representation of the statistical properties of language that govern our reading speed. By using direct cortical stimulation through the same electrodes, transient disruptions of function can be produced, allowing a causal link to behavior.
To recognize a word, we must convert from a combination of visual lines on the retina into an invariant representation of letters, and then link this to a word in our internal dictionary. This process is highly sensitive to the statistics of natural language, allowing easy access to high frequency words, and involves dynamic, recurrent feed-forward and feedback interactions within the visual stream. How do we determine whether a string of letters on a page relates to a word we know? How is information about commonly occurring words encoded into the word recognition process? How does the visual stream interact with the broader reading network to access the correct meaning and pronunciation and allow us to read aloud?
Keywords: neuroscience, neurology, neurosurgery, epilepsy, dyslexia, language, learning
Education & Training
PhD, University of Nottingham, 2017