Muhammet Sahan researches attention and memory in the brain

The hippocampus, a part of the brain, plays a vital role in remembering information and navigation. 'Thanks to the hippocampus, we move in space,' explains Sahan. 'We do that naturally. We use our environment to navigate. We recognize a house, an intersection, a river or a tree to orient ourselves. Just look at children. They learn to walk and explore space at the same time. They do not need external navigation equipment for this. That's how it went for many thousands of years.' Around the age of 25, certain functions of the brain deteriorate. 'You'll notice that older people have more difficulty orientating themselves in space. Solving this by using external orientation, such as a GPS, is possible. But what will happen to the elderly generation in 40 years? They grew up with digital navigation systems and may not have developed their internal navigation very well.' Sahan, therefore, finds it attractive to collect data about the functioning of the brains of older people. Research then focuses on what the brain does with their memory and how they focus their attention. “That could be very interesting for future researchers.”

Master Brain and Cognition

The brain is a popular topic, both inside and outside universities. The entire knowledge society is based on the brain and cognition. To better understand how our society works, it is good to explain how decisions are made, how to recognize fake news or how the political game of influence and power works. 'These are interesting questions that our students in the Brain and Cognition master's program like to research.' Students learn various methods they need to know to become solid neuroscientists. When they have completed the master's degree, they will have knowledge of fMRI, VR, EEG and eye-tracking and can use this for scientific research in practice. More than half of the master's students will work in a research position, another part will teach, especially in higher education and healthcare, and some will become data analysts.

'We notice how much of an impression it makes on students when they can reconstruct what they have read in all their textbooks in the laboratory,' Sahan says. 'Suddenly, they realize what they can do and know and can do with it in society after their studies. We see the sparkle in their eyes when they subject their fellow students to an EEG study during the first examination in the lab. Suddenly, the theory comes to life. The same thing we see when we visit the dissection room of the Erasmus MC together with the students is where they see and feel a brain. They find it impressive that such a small piece of tissue has so many functions and in which so much information is stored.' 

Erasmus Behavourial Lab

Sahan: 'We do much of our research in a laboratory. Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB) has a fantastically equipped laboratory called the Erasmus Behavioural Lab (EBL). For example, we have everything needed to do EEG, VR or eye-tracking research. Eye-tracking is one of our most important research projects. 'We investigate how eye movements and attention are related,' Sahan explains. 'When a subject looks at a picture of a bicycle, the eyes appear to follow a pattern. For example, they first look at the handlebars, the wheels, the saddle, and the pedals. If you remove the image and ask the subject to think about the bicycle again after a few minutes, the eyes will automatically follow that pattern again. In your mind, your attention goes first to the handlebars, then to the wheels and finally to the saddle and the pedals. That's fascinating! By following eye movements, you can see what someone is thinking. We know that if someone does not make the same pattern, then something is wrong.'

Fundamental research

Sahan: 'The research I do is fundamental. For me, it is important that what I do is innovative and can answer questions that could not be answered before. This is why I feel so at home within the field of cognitive neuroscience: knowledge from various disciplines, such as physics, is added to the relatively young knowledge of psychology. We can explain something as abstract as 'thinking' through this collaboration. We can conduct concrete research because the hippocampus is a concrete part of the brain, thanks to modern research techniques. In the neurocognitive sciences, science and philosophy come together.' It couldn't be better, Sahan thinks.

Accessible to everyone

Sahan publishes the results of his research on Open Sciences Framework. Other researchers use his results for applied research, such as research into dementia, dyscalculia, and dyslexia. 'This is how I make an impact,' he explains. 'I also use the creative and intelligent ideas of others. Students inspire Sahan in his research. 'The energy of students is inexhaustible. Out of curiosity, they ask questions that seem simple but are complex. In this way, we build more knowledge together.'