Vincent Tijms

In this research internship I explored and implemented different models of functional and effective connectivity in SPM5/MATLAB, in order to analyse BOLD-based connectivity measures using task-based fMRI (facial emotion recognition task).

This literature research gave a mechanistic overview of the often-touted 'social peptide' oxytocin and compared behavioral neuroscientific findings from the animal literature to cognitive neuroscientific and behavioral findings from the human literature.

A research internship, in which I familiarized myself with animal training (two-odour discrimination as a decision-making task) neurophysiological measurement techniques (most notably, in vivo tetrode recordings and local field potential measurements), manipulations (embedded probe dialysis of NMDA receptor antagonists) data analysis (cluster cutting, frequency analysis) and the accompanying MATLAB scripting. I also piloted an experiment to do on-line quantifications of dialysis using high-performance liquid chromatography. The internship also introduced me to the workings of the orbitofrontal cortex and its role in decision-making.

Internship at Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics. Performed research on the photosynthetic apparatus of cyanobacteria. Tasks performed included cultivation of various strains under different environmental conditions, analysing growth and measuring photosynthetic activity via oxygen electrodes, PAM fluorescence measurements and optical density spectroscopy.