Prof. Kevin N Gurney, BSc, MSc, PhD
Address
The University of Sheffield
Sheffield S10 2TP, UK
Tel: (+44) 0114 22 26566
Fax: (+44) 0114 276 6515
Room: 2-21
Email: k.gurney@sheffield.ac.uk
Qualifications
PHD Neural Networks, Dept of Electronic Engineering (Brunel), MSc Digital Systems (Brunel), BSc Mathematical Physics (Sussex)
Research Interests
I am one of the leaders of the Adaptive Behaviour Research Group, and my research falls under the general banner of computational neuroscience.
Action selection
More specifically, I am working on developing our understanding of how animals and humans solve the problem of action selection; the resolution of competition between requests for behavioural expression that all animals must achieve under the constant barrage of sensory and cognitive information that they are subjected to. This work is predicated on the hypothesis that a set of sub-cortical structures – the basal ganglia – are the locus of a computational `switch´ that is able to select between behavioural alternatives.
Successful model
The systems level computational model of the basal ganglia that tested (and supported) this hypothesis (Gurney et al. Biological Cybernetics 2001) has been successfully extended in several ways (e.g. Humphries & Gurney, et al., Network 2002), has been embodied in a mobile robot, and used by other research groups (Girard et al., Journal of Integrative Neuroscience 2003).
Selection Hypothesis
I am also developing a programme of work which seeks to test the selection hypothesis in models at other structural levels of description. Thus, we are working with leaky-integrate-and-fire models of the entire basal ganglia (Gurney et al, SfN abstract #517.9, 2005), and compartmental model of single neurons (Wood et al, Neurocomputing 2004).
Methodological issues in modelling
This work at multiple levels has also instigated an investigation into methodological issues in modelling (Gurney et al, Trends in Neurosciences 2004). Most recently, as PI on the multicentre, multidisciplinary REVERB project I am investigating the fundamental computations mediated by the basal ganglia and its generic anatomical context within the vertebrate brain.
Grants
EPSRC "CARMEN: Code analysis, repository, and modelling for e-Neuroscience." C. Ingram (PI) (Newcastle), K. Gurney (lead at Sheffield) plus 19 other CIs in multicentre, e-science programme. (2006) £192K
EU 6th Framework "ICEA Integrating Emotion, Cognition and Autonomy" Part of a consortium of ten research groups from seven EU countries, with Tony Prescott leading the Sheffield component. (2005) £600K
EPSRC "REVERB: Computation for Autonomous Agents: A Novel Approach based on the Vertebrate Brain." K. Gurney (PI), P. Redgrave, P. Overton, T. Prescott (Sheffield) P. Dudek (UMIST), M. Lee (Aberystwyth), R. Baddeley (Bristol), R. Bogacz (Bristol), B. Tatler (Dundee), P. Tobler (Cambridge) and P. Nixon (Oxford). Co-investigators: Industrial Partner, BAE Systems. (2004) £781K
EPSRC "Robot control using a model of central structures in the vertebrate brain." T. Prescott (PI), K. Gurney and P Redgrave. (2002) £161K
EPSRC "A Robot Whisker System Modelled on the Rat Mystacial Vibrissae (Facial Whiskers)." C. Melhuish (PI) (UWE), K. Gurney, T. Prescott and P Redgrave (2002) £150K
French Integrative Neuroscience Programme "Dynamic properties of the basal ganglia network in normal and hemiparkinsonian rats. Functional effects of high frequency stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus." Partner with 3 French Centres (2002) £8K
Community Health Sheffield – Pre-protocol funding "Reliability and Validity of Models of Cognitive Impairment in Schizophrenia with Alternative Psychopharmacological Regimes." R. Parks (PI), K. Gurney, T. Prescott and other members of Academic psychiatry (2002) £8K
Activities and Distinctions
- Editorial panel: Journal of Intelligent Systems
- Invited Speaker. Basal Ganglia workshop, International Computational Neuroscience Meeting, Baltimore, USA 2004.
- Keynote talk: International SenseMaker workshop on Life-Like Perception Systems, Derry, Northern Ireland, 2005
- Invited Speaker. Symposium on Motivation, Learning and Memory – A System Level Brain Modeling Approach, Lund, Sweden, 2005.
- Media coverage of research: REVERB project - BBC web site and Electronics Weekly
- National policy and practice. Neuroinformatics Network Inaugural Workshop 2005.
- Invited articles:Neural networks for perceptual processing: from simulation tools to theories Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society London B special issue on 'Use of Neural Networks to Studying Perception in Animals'
Key Publications
GURNEY, K. N. (2006)
Neural networks for perceptual processing: from simulation tools to theories.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. (in press)
GURNEY, K. N., PRESCOTT, T. J., WICKENS, J. R. and REDGRAVE, P. (2004)
Computational models of the basal ganglia: from robots to membranes.
Trends Neurosci 27(8): 453-459.
GURNEY, K. N., PRESCOTT, T. J. & REDGRAVE, P. (2001)
A computational model of action selection in the basal ganglia II: Analysis and simulation of behaviour.
Biological Cybernetics 84: 411-423.
GURNEY, K. N., PRESCOTT, T. J. & REDGRAVE, P. (2001)
A computational model of action selection in the basal ganglia I: A new functional anatomy.
Biological Cybernetics 84: 401-410
GURNEY, K. N. (2001)
Information processing in dendrites II: information theoretic complexity.
Neural Networks 14 1005-1022.
GURNEY, K. N. (2001)
Information processing in dendrites I: input pattern generalisation.
Neural Networks14 991-1004.
View a full list of Kevin Gurney's publications.
Postgraduate Students
Research Assistants
- Jon Chambers - REVERB
- Mark Humphries - ICEA
- Ben Mitchinson - Whiskerbot
- Ric Wood - REVERB
Support staff
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