Staff Profile

Laboratory of Comparative Neuropsychology

Our research uses advanced imaging and neurophysiological methods to study neuronal mechanisms and systems for perception, cognition and communication. Our work informs and is responsive to clinical research with neurosurgery and neurology patients via collaboration with clinical teams in the UK and US. Please see lab website for more information www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/lcnncl. 

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Please see the lab webpage or publications list for details.

I teach to medical, biomedical science, animal behaviour and psychology undergraduate and post-graduate students on a range of topics including perception, cognition, neuropsychology and brain disorders. My lab supports research project students (undergraduate 3rd year projecs, Masters and PhD students). 

• Articles

  • Kocsis Z, Jenison RL, Taylor PN, Calmus RM, McMurray B, Rhone AE, Sarrett MCE, Deifelt Streese C, Kikuchi Y, Gander PE, Berger JI, Kovach CK, Choi I, Greenlee JD, Kawasaki H, Cope TE, Griffiths TD, Howard MA, Petkov CI. Immediate neural impact and incomplete compensation after semantic hub disconnection. Nature Communications 2023, 14(1), 6264.
  • Dheerendra P, Baumann S, Joly O, Balezeau F, Petkov CI, Thiele A, Griffiths TD. The Representation of Time Windows in Primate Auditory Cortex. Cerebral Cortex 2022, 32(16), 3568-3580.
  • Balezeau F, Nacef J, Kikuchi Y, Schneider F, Rocchi F, Muers RS, Fernandez-Palacios O'Connor R, Blau C, Wilson B, Saunders RC, Howard M, Thiele A, Griffiths TD, Petkov CI, Murphy K. MRI monitoring of macaque monkeys in neuroscience: Case studies, resource and normative data comparisons. NeuroImage 2021, 230, 117778.
  • Rocchi F, Oya H, Balezeau F, Billig AJ, Kocsis Z, Jenison RL, Nourski KV, Kovach CK, Steinschneider M, Kikuchi Y, Rhone AE, Dlouhy BJ, Kawasaki H, Adolphs R, Greenlee JDW, Griffiths TD, Howard MA, Petkov CI. Common fronto-temporal effective connectivity in humans and monkeys. Neuron 2021, 109(5), 852-868.e8.
  • Perry BAL, Mason S, Nacef J, Waddle A, Hynes B, Bergmann C, Schmid MC, Petkov CI, Thiele A, Mitchell AS. Protective cranial implant caps for macaques. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2020, 108992.
  • Balezeau F, Wilson B, Gallardo G, Dick F, Hopkins W, Anwander A, Friederici AD, Griffiths TD, Petkov CI. Primate auditory prototype in the evolution of the arcuate fasciculus. Nature Neuroscience 2020, 23, 611-614.
  • Tremblay S, Acker L, Afraz A, Albaugh DL, Amita H, Andrei AR, Angelucci A, Aschner A, Balan PF, Basso MA, Benvenuti G, Bohlen MO, Caiola MJ, Calcedo R, Cavanaugh J, Chen Y, Chen S, Chernov MM, Clark AM, Dai J, Debes SR, Deisseroth K, Desimone R, Dragoi V, Egger SW, Eldridge MAG, El-Nahal HG, Fabbrini F, Federer F, Fetsch CR, Fortuna MG, Friedman RM, Fujii N, Gail A, Galvan A, Ghosh S, Gieselmann MA, Gulli RA, Hikosaka O, Hosseini EA, Hu X, Huer J, Inoue KI, Janz R, Jazayeri M, Jiang R, Ju N, Kar K, Klein C, Kohn A, Komatsu M, Maeda K, Martinez-Trujillo JC, Matsumoto M, Maunsell JHR, Mendoza-Halliday D, Monosov IE, Muers RS, Nurminen L, Ortiz-Rios M, O'Shea DJ, Palfi S, Petkov CI, Pojoga S, Rajalingham R, Ramakrishnan C, Remington ED, Revsine C, Roe AW, Sabes PN, Saunders RC, Scherberger H, Schmid MC, Schultz W, Seidemann E, Senova YS, Shadlen MN, Sheinberg DL, Siu C, Smith Y, Solomon SS, Sommer MA, Spudich JL, Stauffer WR, Takada M, Tang S, Thiele A, Treue S, Vanduffel W, Vogels R, Whitmire MP, Wichmann T, Wurtz RH, Xu H, Yazdan-Shahmorad A, Shenoy KV, DiCarlo JJ, Platt ML. An Open Resource for Non-human Primate Optogenetics. Neuron 2020, 108(6), 1075-1090.
  • Kikuchi Y, Kumar S, Baumann S, Overath T, Gander PE, Sedley W, Patterson RD, Petkov CI, Griffiths TD. The distribution and nature of responses to broadband sounds associated with pitch in the macaque auditory cortex. Cortex 2019, 120, 340-352.
  • Calmus R, Wilson B, Kikuchi Y, Petkov CI. Structured sequence processing and combinatorial binding: neurobiologically and computationally informed hypotheses. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 2019, 375(1791), 20190304.
  • Petkov CI, ten Cate C. Structured Sequence Learning: Animal Abilities, Cognitive Operations, and Language Evolution. Topics in Cognitive Science 2019, 12(3), 828-842.
  • Wikman P, Rinne T, Petkov CI. Reward cues readily direct monkeys' auditory performance resulting in broad auditory cortex modulation and interaction with sites along cholinergic and dopaminergic pathways. Scientific Reports 2019, 9, 3055.
  • Kikuchi Y, Ip J, Lagier G, Mossom JC, Kumar S, Petkov CI, Barraclough NE, Vuong QC. Interactions between conscious and subconscious signals: Selective attention under feature-based competition increases neural selectivity during brain adaptation. The Journal of Neuroscience 2019, 39(28), 5506-5516.
  • Oya H, Gander PE, Petkov CI, Adolphs R, Nourski KV, Kawasaki H, Howard MA, Griffiths TD. Neural phase locking predicts BOLD response in human auditory cortex. NeuroImage 2018, 169, 286-301.
  • Wilson B, Petkov CI. From evolutionarily conserved frontal regions for sequence processing to human innovations for syntax. Interaction Studies 2018, 19(1-2), 318-335.
  • Petkov CI, Marslen-Wilson WD. Editorial overview: The evolution of language as a neurobiological system. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences 2018, 21, v-xii.
  • Schneider F, Dheerendra P, Balezeau F, Ortiz-Rios M, Kikuchi Y, Petkov CI, Thiele A, Griffiths TD. Auditory figure-ground analysis in rostral belt and parabelt of the macaque monkey. Scientific Reports 2018, 8, 17948.
  • Milne AE, Petkov CI, Wilson B. Auditory and visual sequence learning in humans and monkeys using an artificial grammar learning paradigm. Neuroscience 2018, 389, 104-117.
  • Milham MP, Ai L, Koo B, Xu T, Amiez C, Balezeau F, Baxter MG, Blezer ELA, Brochier T, Chen A, Croxson PL, Damatac CG, Dehaene S, Everling S, Fair DA, Fleysher L, Freiwald W, Froudist-Walsh S, Griffiths TD, Guedj C, Hadj-Bouziane F, Ben Hamed S, Harel N, Hiba B, Jarraya B, Jung B, Kastner S, Klink PC, Kwok SC, Laland KN, Leopold DA, Lindenfors P, Mars RB, Menon RS, Messinger A, Meunier M, Mok K, Morrison JH, Nacef J, Nagy J, Ortiz-Rios M, Petkov CI, Pinsk M, Poirier C, Procyk E, Rajimehr R, Reader S, Roelfsema P, Rudko DA, Rushworth MFS, Russ BE, Sallet J, Schmid MC, Schwiedrzik CM, Seidlitz J, Sein J, Shmuel A, Sullivan EL, Ungerleider L, Thiele A, Todorov OS, Tsao D, Wang Z, Wilson CRE, Yacoub E, Ye FQ, Zarco W, Zhou Y, Margulies DS, Schroeder CES. An Open Resource for Non-human Primate Imaging. Neuron 2018, 100(1), 61-74.
  • Kikuchi Y, Attaheri A, Wilson B, Rhone AE, Nourski KV, Gander PE, Kovach CK, Kawasaki H, Griffiths TD, Howard MA, Petkov CI. Sequence learning modulates neural responses and oscillatory coupling in human and monkey auditory cortex. PLoS Biology 2017, 15(4), e2000219.
  • Oya H, Howard MA, Magnotta VA, Kruger A, Griffiths TD, Lemieux L, Carmichael DW, Petkov CI, Kawasaki H, Kovach CK, Sutterer MJ, Adolphs R. Mapping effective connectivity in the human brain with concurrent intracranial electrical stimulation and BOLD-fMRI. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2017, 277, 101-112.
  • Rinne T, Muers RS, Salo E, Slater H, Petkov CI. Functional Imaging of Audio–Visual Selective Attention in Monkeys and Humans: How do Lapses in Monkey Performance Affect Cross-Species Correspondences?. Cerebral Cortex 2017, 27(6), 3471-3484.
  • Poirier C, Baumann S, Dheerendra P, Joly O, Hunter D, Balezeau F, Sun L, Rees A, Petkov CI, Thiele A, Griffiths TD. Auditory motion-specific mechanisms in the primate brain. PLoS Biology 2017, 15(5), 1-24.
  • Cope TE, Wilson B, Robson H, Drinkall R, Dean L, Grube M, Jones PS, Patterson K, Griffiths TD, Rowe JB, Petkov CI. Artificial grammar learning in vascular and progressive non-fluent aphasias. Neuropsychologia 2017, 104, 201-213.
  • Slater H, Milne AE, Wilson B, Muers RS, Balezeau F, Hunter D, Thiele A, Griffiths TD, Petkov CI. Individually customisable non-invasive head immobilisation system for non-human primates with an option for voluntary engagement. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2016, 269, 46-60.
  • Milne AE, Mueller JL, Mannel C, Attaheri A, Friederici AD, Petkov CI. Evolutionary origins of non-adjacent sequence processing in primate brain potentials. Scientific Reports 2016, 6, 36259.
  • Baumann S, Joly O, Rees A, Petkov CI, Sun L, Thiele A, Griffiths TD. The Topography of Frequency and Time Representation in Primate Auditory Cortices. eLife 2015, 4, e03256.
  • Schönwiesner M, Dechent P, Voit D, Petkov CI, Krumbholz K. Parcellation of Human and Monkey Core Auditory Cortex with fMRI Pattern Classification and Objective Detection of Tonotopic Gradient Reversals. Cerebral Cortex 2015, 25(10), 3278-3289.
  • Perrodin C, Kayser C, Logothetis NK, Petkov CI. Natural asynchronies in audiovisual communication signals regulate neuronal multisensory interactions in voice-sensitive cortex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2015, 112(1), 273-278.
  • Wilson B, Smith K, Petkov CI. Mixed-complexity artificial grammar learning in humans and macaque monkeys: evaluating learning strategies. European Journal of Neuroscience 2015, 41(5), 568-578.
  • Attaheri A, Kikuchi Y, Milne AE, Wilson B, Alter K, Petkov CI. EEG potentials associated with artificial grammar learning in the primate brain. Brain and Language 2015, 148, 74-80.
  • Petkov CI, Kikuchi Y, Milne AE, Mishkin M, Rauschecker JP, Logothetis NK. Different forms of effective connectivity in primate frontotemporal pathways. Nature Communications 2015, 6, 6000.
  • Wilson B, Kikuchi Y, Sun L, Hunter D, Dick F, Smith K, Thiele A, Griffiths TD, Marslen-Wilson WD, Petkov CI. Auditory sequence processing reveals evolutionarily conserved regions of frontal cortex in macaques and humans. Nature Communications 2015, 6, 8901.
  • Perrodin C, Kayser C, Logothetis NK, Petkov CI. Auditory and Visual Modulation of Temporal Lobe Neurons in Voice-Sensitive and Association Cortices. Journal of Neuroscience 2014, 34(7), 2524-2537.
  • Petkov CI, Vuong QC. Neuronal Coding: The Value in Having an Average Voice. Current Biology 2013, 23(12), R521-R523.
  • Wilson B, Slater H, Kikuchi Y, Milne A, Marslen-Wilson W, Smith K, Petkov CI. Auditory Artificial Grammar Learning in Macaque and Marmoset Monkeys. Journal of Neuroscience 2013, 33(48), 18825-18835.
  • Baumann S, Petkov CI, Griffiths TD. A unified framework for the organization of the primate auditory cortex. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience 2013, 7, 11.
  • Petkov CI, Wilson B. On the pursuit of the brain network for proto-syntactic learning in non-human primates: conceptual issues and neurobiological hypotheses. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2012, 367(1598), 2077-2088.
  • Petkov CI, Jarvis E. Birds, primates, and spoken language origins: behavioral phenotypes and neurobiological substrates. Frontiers in Evolutionary Neuroscience 2012, 4(1), 12.
  • Perrodin C, Kayser C, Logothetis NK, Petkov CI. Voice Cells in the Primate Temporal Lobe. Current Biology 2011, 21(16), 1408-1415.
  • Baumann S, Griffiths TD, Sun L, Petkov CI, Thiele A, Rees A. Orthogonal representation of sound dimensions in the primate midbrain. Nature Neuroscience 2011, 14(4), 423-425.
  • Petkov CI, Sutter ML. Evolutionary conservation and neuronal mechanisms of auditory perceptual restoration. Hearing Research 2011, 271(1-2), 54-65.
  • Wilson B, Petkov CI. Communication and the Primate Brain: Insights from Neuroimaging Studies in Humans, Chimpanzees and Macaques. Human Biology 2011, 83(2), 175-189.
  • Petkov CI, Taglialatela JP. Neurobiology and ethology: An enduring union?. Current Biology 2010, 20(12), R501-503.
  • O'Connor KN, Yin P, Petkov CI, Sutter ML. Complex spectral interactions encoded by auditory cortical neurons: Relationship between bandwidth and pattern. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience 2010, 4(1), 145.
  • Petkov CI, Logothetis NK, Obleser J. Where Are the Human Speech and Voice Regions, and Do Other Animals Have Anything Like Them?. Neuroscientist 2009, 15(5), 419-429.
  • Petkov C, Kayser C, Augath M, Logothetis N. Optimizing the imaging of the monkey auditory cortex: sparse vs. continuous fMRI. Magnetic Resonance Imaging 2009, 27(8), 1065-1073.
  • Kayser C, Petkov CI, Logothetis NK. Multisensory interactions in primate auditory cortex: fMRI and electrophysiology. Hearing Research 2009, 258(1-2), 80-88.
  • Cate AD, Herron TJ, Yund EW, Stecker GC, Rinne T, Kang X, Petkov CI, Disbrow EA, Woods DL. Auditory attention activates peripheral visual cortex. PLoS ONE 2009, 4(2), e4645.
  • Kayser C, Petkov CI, Logothetis NK. Visual modulation of neurons in auditory cortex. Cerebral Cortex 2008, 18(7), 1560-1574.
  • Chakladar S, Logothetis NK, Petkov CI. Morphing rhesus monkey vocalizations. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2008, 170(1), 45-55.
  • Petkov CI, Kayser C, Steudel T, Whittingstall K, Augath M, Logothetis NK. A voice region in the monkey brain. Nature Neuroscience 2008, 11(3), 367-374.
  • Petkov CI, Kayser C, Steudel T, Whittingstall K, Augath M, Logothetis NK. A voice region in the monkey brain. Neuroforum 2008, 14(2), 211-212.
  • Kayser C, Petkov CI, Logothetis NK. Tuning to sound frequency in auditory field potentials. Journal of Neurophysiology 2007, 98(3), 1806-1809.
  • Kayser C, Petkov CI, Augath M, Logothetis NK. Functional imaging reveals visual modulation of specific fields in auditory cortex. Journal of Neuroscience 2007, 27(8), 1824-1835.
  • Petkov CI, O'Connor KN, Sutter ML. Encoding of illusory continuity in primary auditory cortex. Neuron 2007, 54(1), 153-65.
  • Petkov CI, Kayser C, Augath M, Logothetis NK. Functional imaging reveals numerous fields in the monkey auditory cortex. PLoS Biology 2006, 4(7), e215.
  • Kayser C, Petkov CI, Lippert M, Logothetis NK. Mechanisms for allocating auditory attention: an auditory saliency map. Current Biology 2005, 15(21), 1943-7.
  • Kayser C, Petkov CI, Augath M, Logothetis N. Integration of touch and sound in auditory cortex. Neuron 2005, 48, 373-384.
  • Petkov CI, O'Connor NK, Benmoshe G, Baynes K, Sutter ML. Auditory perceptual grouping and attention in dyslexia. Cognitive Brain Research 2005, 24(2), 343-54.
  • O'Connor KN, Petkov CI, Sutter ML. Adaptive stimulus optimization for auditory cortical neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology 2005, 94(6), 4051-4067.
  • Petkov CI, Wu CC, Eberling JL, Mungas D, Zrelak PA, Yonelinas AP, Haan MN, Jagust WJ. Correlates of memory function in community-dwelling elderly: the importance of white matter hyperintensities. Journal of International Neuropsychological Society 2004, 10(3), 371-81.
  • Petkov CI, Kang X, Alho K, Bertrand O, Yund EW, Woods DL. Attentional modulation of human auditory cortex. Nature Neuroscience 2004, 7(6), 658-63.
  • Petkov CI, O'Connor KN, Sutter ML. Illusory sound perception in macaque monkeys. Journal of Neuroscience 2003, 23(27), 9155-9161.
  • Wu CC, Mungas D, Petkov CI, Eberling JL, Zrelak PA, Buonocore MH, Brunberg JA, Haan MN, Jagust WJ. Brain structure and cognition in a community sample of elderly Latinos. Neurology 2002, 59(3), 383-391.
  • Jagust WJ, Eberling JL, Mungas DM, Wu CC, Petkov CI, Finkbeiner AM, Buonocore M, Brunberg J, Haan MN. PET and MRI in a community sample with cognitive impairment: The SALSA study. Neurology 2000, 54(7 (s3)), A77.
  • Sutter ML, Petkov C, Baynes K, O'Connor KN. Auditory scene analysis in dyslexics. NeuroReport 2000, 11(9), 1967-71.

• Book Chapter

  • Petkov C, Kayser C, Logothetis N. Cortical processing of vocal sounds in primates. In: Burdzynski, S, ed. Handbook of Mammalian Vocalization: An Integrative Neuroscience Approach. Oxford: Academic Press, 2009, pp.135-147.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • The PRIMatE Data and Resource Exchange (PRIME-DRE) Global Collaboration Workshop and Consortium, Poirier C, Petkov C, Kikuchi Y. Toward next-generation primate neuroscience: A collaboration-based strategic plan for integrative neuroimaging. In: The PRIMatE Data and Resource Exchange (PRIME-DRE) Global Collaboration Workshop and Consortium. 2022, Virtual: Elsevier.
  • The PRIMatE Data Exchange (PRIME-DE) Global Collaboration Workshop and Consortium, Poirier C, Petkov C, Griffiths T, Nacef J, Balezeau F, Thiele A. Accelerating the Evolution of Nonhuman Primate Neuroimaging. In: The PRIMatE Data Exchange (PRIME-DE) Global Collaboration Workshop and Consortium. 2020, Virtual: Elsevier.
  • Vuong QC, Kikuchi Y, Ip J, Mossom JC, Barraclough N, Petkov CI. Attentional modulation of responses in human face- and voice-sensitive cortex. In: Scottish Vision Group. 2016, Carnoustie, Scotland: Sage Publications Ltd.
  • Cope TE, Wilson B, Robson H, Dean L, Grube M, Patterson K, Griffiths TD, Rowe JB, Petkov C. Artificial grammar learning in vascular and progressive non-fluent aphasia identifies domain general impairments. In: 10th International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias. 2016, Munich, Germany: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Petkov CI. Relating human and monkey brain function for communication. In: 16th World Congress of Psychophysiology of the International Organization of Psychophysiology (IOP). 2012, Pisa, Italy: Elsevier BV.
  • Kikuchi Y, Kumar S, Baumann S, Overath T, Griffiths T, Petkov C. Neuronal Representation of Temporal Regularity Associated with Pitch Perception in Macaque Auditory Cortex. In: Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting. 2012, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
  • Kikuchi Y, Barrett J, Attaheri A, Wilson B, Petkov C. Neuroimaging and neurophysiology of Artificial Grammar learning in the primate brain: Dissociations between fMRI-BOLD and neuronal activity. In: Advances & Perspectives in Auditory Neurophysiology. 2012, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
  • Petkov CI, Wilson B. Functional imaging of brain regions sensitive to communication sounds in primates. In: 11th Annual Conference of the International Speech Communication Association 2010 (INTERSPEECH 2010). 2010, Makuhari, Japan: International Speech Communication Association (ISCA).
  • Kikuchi Y, Rauschecker JP, Mishkin M, Augath M, Logothetis NK, Petkov CI. Voice region connectivity in the monkey assessed with microstimulation and functional imaging. In: Society for Neuroscience. 2008, Washington DC, USA.

• Editorials

  • Petkov CI, Bendor D. Neuronal Mechanisms and Transformations Encoding Time-Varying Signals. Neuron 2016, 91(4), 718-721.
  • Petkov CI, Jarvis ED. The basal ganglia within a cognitive system in birds and mammals. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 2014, 37(6), 568-569.
  • Petkov CI. Mental structures and hierarchical brain processing Comment on "Toward a computational framework for cognitive biology: Unifying approaches from cognitive neuroscience and comparative cognition" by W. Tecumseh Fitch. Physics of Life Reviews 2014, 11(3), 380-381.
  • Petkov CI, Belin P. Silent Reading: Does the Brain 'Hear' Both Speech and Voices?. Current Biology 2013, 23(4), R155-R156.
  • Petkov CI, Gentner TQ, Liu RC. Editorial introduction to Hearing Research special issue on communication sounds and the brain: New directions and perspectives. Hearing Research 2013, 305, 1-2.

• Letter

  • Mitchell AS, Thiele A, Petkov CI, Roberts A, Robbins TW, Schultz W, Lemon R. Continued need for non-human primate neuroscience research. Current Biology 2018, 28(20), R1186-R1187.

• Note

  • Kocsis Z, Jenison RL, Taylor PN, Calmus RM, McMurray B, Rhone AE, Sarrett MCE, Deifelt Streese C, Kikuchi Y, Gander PE, Berger JI, Kovach CK, Choi I, Greenlee JD, Kawasaki H, Cope TE, Griffiths TD, Howard MA, Petkov CI. Author Correction: Immediate neural impact and incomplete compensation after semantic hub disconnection (Nature Communications, (2023), 14, 1, (6264), 10.1038/s41467-023-42088-7). Nature Communications 2023, 14(1), 8029.

• Reviews

  • ten Cate C, Gervain J, Levelt CC, Petkov CI, Zuidema W. Editors' Review and Introduction: Learning Grammatical Structures: Developmental, Cross-Species, and Computational Approaches. Topics in Cognitive Science 2020, 12(3), 804-814.
  • Kikuchi Y, Sedley W, Griffiths TD, Petkov CI. Evolutionarily conserved neural signatures involved in sequencing predictions and their relevance for language. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences 2018, 21, 145-153.
  • Wilson B, Marslen-Wilson WD, Petkov CI. Conserved Sequence Processing in Primate Frontal Cortex. Trends in Neurosciences 2017, 40(2), 72-82.
  • Perrodin C, Kayser C, Abel TJ, Logothetis NK, Petkov CI. Who is That? Brain Networks and Mechanisms for Identifying Individuals. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 2015, 19(12), 783-796.