The search for face-cell analogs in an identity signalling wasp

In this webinar, Chris Jernigan shares his unique insights on large-scale extracellular single unit recording using our advanced silicon neural probes in awake, head-fixed paper wasps. These wasps are of course highly social and cooperative and Chris uncovers populations of cells that encode specific features and orientations of wasp faces. The talk covers a general introduction to face-cells in non-human primates and draws a range of electrophysiological analogies with the behavior of the wasp neurons, shedding light on two different evolutionary solutions to the problem of face recognition.

Chris is an NIH NEI K99 postdoctoral associate in the Sheehan lab at Cornell University. He is a neuroethologist and neurophysiologist whose previous work ranges from behavior to neural plasticity across modalities and brain regions in social insects.