Alejandro Omar Blenkmann

Academic interests

My major interest is how our brains make predictions of future events. Is our brain a prediction machine to some extent?

I'm the project leader of AudioPred, a project where we study predictive processes in the auditory domain, and part of FrontNeurolab and RITMO. We use different experiments to characterize the neuronal networks that are active when we make predictions and when unexpected events violate these predictions. I¡¯m interested in understanding the neurophysiological basis and the brain network supporting this complex task. I work with intracranial recordings (ECoG or SEEG) obtained from epilepsy patients implanted for medical reasons. These recordings allow us to observe brain activity with a unique spatiotemporal resolution. I also study patients with frontal lobe lesions to understand the frontal lobe's role in the prediction network. 

I¡¯m also interested in methods for localizing intracranial electrodes. In this vein, I developed iElectrodes, an open-source toolbox running on MATLAB ? to perform intracranial electrode localization. The toolbox uses MRI and CT images to localize, number, and anatomically label intracranial grids (ECoG) and depth (SEEG) electrodes. For more information, please visit the iElectrodes project page.

Background

Education

Employment history

• Julian Fuhrer, University of Oslo, 2023. A Small Step Closer to Separating Prediction from Repetition Suppression in the Auditory Mismatch Negativity Response.

• Vegard Volehaugen, University of Oslo. Ongoing.
• Olgerta Asko, University of Oslo. Ongoing.
• Saira Jameela H¨¹benette, University of Oslo. Ongoing.

• Eng. Soledad Reyes - Favaloro Univ., Arg., 2012. HL7 Medical record for epilepsy.
• Eng. Santiago Collavini - Favaloro Univ., Arg., 2015. Effective connectivity in epileptogenic networks in the Occipital Lobe.
• MPsych. Rebecca Millichamp, University of Oslo, 2018. A Small Step Closer to Separating Prediction from Repetition Suppression in the Auditory Mismatch Negativity Response.
• MPsych. Vegard Volehaugen, University of Oslo, 2021. Attention in the Hierarchy of Predictions and Prediction Errors. 
• MPsych Sara Kruge Nossen, University of Oslo, 2023. Automatic Deviance Detection in the Human Auditory Cortex and Temporoparietal Junction.

Partners

Main collaborations (head of lab):

• Dr. Silvia Kochen, UNAJ ¨C El Cruce Hospital - CONICET, Argentina.

• Dr. Carlos Muravchik. LEICI, National University of La Plata, Argentina.

• Dr. Tristan Bekinschtein. Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

• Dr. Robert Knight - Dept. of Psychology/Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of Berkeley, USA.

• Dr. P?l G. Larsson, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oslo.

• Dr. Andres Canales-Johnson. Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

• Dr. J?rgen Sugar, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Oslo

• Dr. Krzysztof Basi¨½ski, Department of Psychology, Medical University of Gda¨½sk, Poland.
• Dr. Leonardo Bonetti, Department of Clinical Medicine - Center for Music In the Brain, Aarhus University, Denmark.
• Dr. David Quiroga-Martinez, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Media and general public content

• Interview for the Argentinean TV show "Salud en Movimiento", Radio Television Neuqu¨¦n, Argentina [in Spanish]. 29.03.23 YouTube link
• Interview at radio La Divina Providencia FM 97.3, Neuqu¨¦n, Argentina [in Spanish]. 30.03.23 [download mp3 file]
• Presentation at RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Norway. 12.03.21 YouTube link 
• Kids presentation for the Organization for Human Brain Mapping 30.05.22. [in Spanish with English subtitles] YouTube link