CELEST seeks to understand the fundamental processes that underlie human learning by studying dynamic interactions within and among brain regions. Interdisciplinary research teams study how the brain learns to (1) plan: to make decisions for appropriate actions based on assessment of risks and potential rewards in a given situation, (2) explore: to perform planned actions to move about familiar and unfamiliar environments, (3) communicate: to use noisy and incomplete sensory information to interact effectively with other agents and objects in the world, and (4) remember: to encode and guide retrieval of information to achieve goals. CELEST is a multi-faceted collaboration that focuses the efforts of scientific and educational teams led by 15 senior scientists at four Boston-area universities. CELEST combines undergraduate and graduate training in interdisciplinary research that combines experimental cognitive neuroscience with quantitative behavioral and brain modeling of normal and abnormal learning during perception, cognition, emotion, and action.
Broader impacts: CELEST transfers the results of basic research on learning to undergraduate and graduate courses. This is achieved through its ongoing development of course materials for the new undergraduate neuroscience major at Boston University, and through electronic dissemination on the CELEST web site. Outreach to the undergraduate neuroscience community also occurs by means of a one-day CELEST workshop and related workbook about the cognitive basis of successful learning strategies. A number of CELEST programs are targeted at increasing opportunities for groups underrepresented in science to participate in its innovative curriculum and research initiatives. These include graduate fellowships, summer internships for faculty from minority-serving institutions, a ten-week summer program for undergraduates from underrepresented groups to work in CELEST faculty labs, and a week-long summer workshop to introduce undergraduates to the interplay of modeling and experimental techniques in cognitive neuroscience. Center added value: By bringing together distinct scientific communities that traditionally employ different practices and techniques, CELEST interdisciplinary science is changing the way we understand how the brain learns, and how different parts of the brain interact with each other during learning. Through collaboration with industrial partners, including the development and transfer of large-scale neuromorphic engineering and technological algorithms to industry and government laboratories, CELEST facilitates research for practical applications that cannot be supported by conventional single-investigator grants. CELEST faculty, postdocs, and students are playing increasingly important roles in communicating with non-specialists through many activities including blogs, workshops, and presentations to secondary school audiences. The integration of CELEST research and education is accomplished through the development of innovative curriculum materials based upon mathematical and computational models of mind and brain. through electronic and personal presentations to a variety of audiences, and through sponsorship of scientific conferences and workshops.
