Mather, Mara
Professor of Gerontology, Psychology, and Biomedical Engineering
The autonomic nervous system plays an underappreciated role in age-related change in the brain and cognition. But the sympathetic hub region in the brain (the locus coeruleus) is one of the first brain regions affected by Alzheimer’s disease pathology and deep sleep, a period of high parasympathetic activity, is critical for clearing out the potentially toxic proteins generated by the brain’s activity during the day (it is the aggregation of such proteins that leads to the hallmark plaques and tangles seen in Alzheimer’s disease). Our research is investigating how both sympathetic and parasympathetic function affect brain function and cognition in aging and how interventions that increase parasympathetic activity may enhance brain function in older adults.
Mel, Bartlett
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Our research involves the use of computer models to study brain function. Some of our goals are of a primarily scientific nature. For example, we use detailed biophysiical modeling to study synaptic integration in active dendritic trees, and explore how dendritic trees could contribute to the sensory and memory-related functions of nerve cells. Some of our work combines scientific and engineering goals. For example, we have modeled the complex computations carried out in the visual cortex that allow us to recognize objects with remarkable speed, accuracy, and robustness -- far beyond the technical state of the art. Our overarching goal is to use insights gained from this work to help in the construction of next-generation intelligent machines.
Moore, Jeffrey
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Many mammals sense and affect their environment predominantly through innate motor programs for exploration, social interaction, and ingestion; yet, little is known about the neuronal circuits that control these motor programs. Our lab uses molecular, systems, and computational neurobiological techniques to identify specific brainstem motor control modules and to determine how higher-order brain structures engage these modules for innate behaviors.
Piray, Payam
Assistant Professor of Psychology
How do people make sense of incomplete and noisy observations? How do humans make decisions in an uncertain world and how do they learn from their mistakes? We investigate these problems in health and disease using computational and experimental tools.
Rouhani, Nina
Assistant Professor of Psychology
The Interactive Cognition Lab uses an interdisciplinary framework, drawing from computational neuroscience, cognitive science and psychology, to uncover how learning and memory processes guide individual and interactive behavior in the laboratory and real world.
Schier, Lindsey
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
The Schier lab seeks to understand how the chemical constituents of foods and fluids are sensed, how these oral and postoral signals are processed in the brain and channeled into the behavioral outputs that subserve energy balance.
