After a master’s in Artificial Intelligence, Gilles did a PhD in Birte Forstmann’s lab at the UvA. Using cognitive modelling approaches and 7T structural and functional MRI, he tried to understand the functional anatomy of the subthalamic nucleus, a small node of the basal ganglia deep down in the brain. He worked on optimizing functional MRI protocols for this particular brain region. He also likes to think about how cognitive computational models can help us understand neural signals.

Currently, he is investigating the neural subtrate of binocular rivalry in primary visual cortex using laminar-resolved functional MRI.