Research Areas

Research Areas

Neuroscience spans from the microscopic to the macroscopic, from genes and proteins all the way to behavior, thought, and computation. Our faculty laboratories study nervous system function at multiple levels, using approaches from biology, chemistry, physics, physiology, psychology, computation, engineering, and other fields.

The department is organized into four research areas. Most faculty members are associated with several areas, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of neuroscience. The areas serve as intellectual focus groups, to promote research collaborations, to develop undergraduate and graduate courses, and to foster graduate and postdoctoral scientific training.

Circuit, Systems & Behavioral Neuroscience

Circuit, systems and behavioral neuroscience seeks to understand how networks of neurons process information and mediate behavior; how neural activity mediates sensation, learning, movement, sleep, mood, social interaction, and many complex behaviors; and how new technologies can be used to study large-scale brain function and its role in disease.

Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience

Molecular and cellular neuroscience seeks to understand how brain cells (neurons) function at the cellular, genetic, and molecular level; how neurons develop and age; how they communicate with each other; how they are disrupted in disease; and how molecular tools can be used to study brain function and treat disease.

Circuit, Systems & Behavioral Neuroscience Faculty

  • Hillel Adesnik
  • Annaliese Beery
  • Yang Dan
  • Gül Dölen
  • Dan Feldman
  • Yvette Fisher
  • David Foster
  • Na Ji
  • Daniela Kaufer
  • Preeya Khanna
  • Lance Kriegsfeld
  • Stephan Lammel
  • Frédéric Theunissen
  • Doris Tsao
  • Joni Wallis
  • Linda Wilbrecht
  • Michael Yartsev
  • Helen Bateup
  • Michael DeWeese
  • David Feinberg
  • Marla Feller
  • Jack Gallant
  • Ehud Isacoff
  • Bill Jagust
  • Richard Kramer
  • Bruno Olshausen
  • Michael Silver
  • Kevin Weiner

Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience Faculty

  • Helen Bateup
  • Steve Brohawn
  • Gül Dölen
  • Marla Feller
  • Ehud Isacoff
  • Richard Kramer
  • Markita Landry
  • John Flannery
  • Hillel Adesnik
  • Yang Dan
  • Dan Feldman
  • Yvette Fisher
  • Na Ji
  • Daniela Kaufer
  • David Presti

Cognitive Neuroscience

Cognitive neuroscience aims to understand the neurobiological basis for human cognition and human behavior, including sensory perception, attention, language, emotion, learning and cognitive flexibility, and many of the things that make us human. Cognitive neuroscientists use and develop brain imaging, EEG, and other methods that allow brain function to be studied in people.

Computational Neuroscience

Computational neuroscience aims to elucidate the principles of how, and what, the brain computes. It uses mathematical and computer science approaches to build models of brain function, to analyze complex multidimensional neural data, and to develop new computational methods and devices inspired by brain function.

Cognitive Neuroscience Faculty

  • David Feinberg
  • Jack Gallant
  • Rich Ivry
  • Bill Jagust
  • David Presti
  • Michael Silver
  • Kevin Weiner
  • Daniela Kaufer
  • Frédéric Theunissen
  • Doris Tsao
  • Joni Wallis

Computational Neuroscience Faculty

  • Bruno Olshausen
  • Michael DeWeese
  • Preeya Khanna
  • Frédéric Theunissen
  • Doris Tsao
  • Hillel Adesnik
  • David Feinberg
  • Jack Gallant
  • Na Ji
  • Joni Wallis