MASTER TEAM

Prof. Ioannis (Yiannis) Delis, University of Leeds, to speak at ECE-NTUA on April 7th, 2025, at 18:00 (Conference Room, Ground Floor, New ECE Building, Zografos campus)

Seminar schedule:

18:00-18:45 Part I

18:45-19:00 Break with refreshments

19:00-20:00 Part II

19:45-20:30 Networking with finger food

Abstract: Perceptual decisions rely on the integration of evidence from the environment, which involves the combination of stimuli from different senses. Multisensory information has been shown to improve decision-making performance; however, the neural origins of this benefit remain largely unknown. In this talk, I will address this question by introducing a neurally-informed modelling approach to characterize multisensory decision formation. Specifically, I will present a set of experiments in which brain activity was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG) while human subjects performed binary-choice reaction-time tasks involving the processing of sensory evidence from different modalities. First, to quantify multisensory benefits in the brain (“neural gains”), I will present a single-trial multivariate discrimination analysis. This approach disentangles brain activity into components encoding the participants’ choice. Second, to characterise the functional roles of these components in decision-making behaviour, I will show how they can be used to inform a hierarchical drift diffusion model, a model of decision-making behaviour that decomposes task performance into its constituent processes, such as sensory encoding, evidence accumulation and motor response. Third, I will outline a novel information-theoretic methodology to quantify multisensory interactions in the human brain and assess their contribution to behavioural benefits. Ultimately, I will demonstrate how the proposed framework can characterise the neural representations of the processes involved in multisensory decision formation.

Bio: Ioannis (Yiannis) Delis is Associate Professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Leeds with background in Electrical and Computer Engineering (Diploma from University of Patras and MSc from University of Minnesota) and Computational Neuroscience (PhD, University of Genoa) and research experience in Cognitive Neuroscience (University of Glasgow) and Biomedical Engineering (Columbia University). His research aims to leverage the power of data to uncover the neural mechanisms that humans use to process sensory information and make decisions that ultimately produce effective actions. To this end, he develops computational tools (based on machine learning, information theory and network theory) for the single-trial analysis of large-scale neurobiological and behavioural signals to address questions about sensory-motor function and apply the findings in the development of biologically-inspired technology.

For more information, please contact Konstantina S. Nikita (knikita@ece.ntua.gr)

The event is supported within the framework of the actions for the internationalization of the NTUA, which is funded by the NSRF (MIS No. 6004804) and specifically within the M.Sc. in “Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine”