Learning, Memory and Plasticity
Neuroscientists in our Consortium are making rapid progress in understanding the mechanisms by which people learn and remember, by studying how experience modifies brain circuits and by understanding the organization of large-scale brain networks that support the ability to recollect past events. Our research is focused on developing new approaches to improve cognition in health and disease through ongoing efforts to develop wearable devices, noninvasive brain stimulation approaches, closed-loop systems and new therapeutics to treat devastating diseases, including dementias and psychiatric disorders. Increasing our understanding of learning and memory is also fueling a revolution in machine learning algorithms that are based on our growing knowledge of how learning arises from the interaction of every major region of the brain.
This topic is a major strength at UC Davis, highlighted by the Center for Neuroscience-sponsored, cross-campus Memory and Plasticity Program (MAP), the Alzheimer’s Disease Center, the UC Davis Conte Center, and several targeted graduate and postdoctoral T32 training programs. The UC Davis Neuroscience Consortium has a large number of faculty working at this level: 66 faculty members from 22 departments and 11 centers. These faculty utilize a wide range of approaches, across all of the levels of analysis and have an impressive number of interdisciplinary collaborations to further their research in this area.
Faculty studying learning, memory and plasticity
| Karen L. Bales, Ph.D. | Behavioral neuroscience of social bonds |
| Melissa D. Bauman, Ph.D. | Behavioral neuroscience, prenatal risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders |
| Robert F. Berman, Ph.D. | Neurodevelopmental disorderd; TBI; neurotoxicology |
| Erie D. Boorman, Ph.D. | Learning and decision-making |
| Laura Borodinsky, Ph.D. | Cellular and molecular mechanisms of extrinsic and intrinsic cues on development and regeneration |
| Lindsay C. Bowman, Ph.D. | Cognitive and environmental factors that influence development of the social brain |
| Rebecca Calisi Rodríguez | Animal behavior, reproductive and behavioral endocrinology, neuroendocrinology, neurogenomics, ecophysiology, urban ecology |
| Rishidev Chaudhuri, Ph.D. | Computational neuroscience and neural data analysis |
| Shizhe Chen, Ph.D. | Statistical analysis of neural circuits |
| David P. Corina, Ph.D. | Cognitive neuroscience of language and cognition |
| Daniel L. Cox, Ph.D. | Modeling neuronal sensing/navigation circuits and impacts from neurodegenerative damage. |
| Robert Cudmore, Ph.D. | Effects of experience, disease and aging on the structure and function of the brain |
| William DeBello, Ph.D. | Adaptive plasticity and brain wiring |
| Elva Diaz, Ph.D. | Functional genomics of nervous system development, function and disease |
| Sarah Tomaszewski Farias, Ph.D. | Cognitive aging and dementia; early disease detection; life-course risk and protective factors; and behavioral interventions to delay cognitive and functional loss |
| Mike Ferns, Ph.D. | Cellular and molecular basis of synapse formation in the mammalian nervous system |
| Diasynou Fioravante, Ph.D. | Neural circuits for prediction, learning and memory |
| Andrew S. Fox, Ph.D. | Neurobiology of emotion, “affective style” and the development of mental illness |
| Simona Ghetti, Ph.D. | Development of memory and metamemory |
| Mark Goldman, Ph.D. | Computational neuroscience |
| John A. Gray, M.D., Ph.D. | Molecular and cellular mechanisms of synapse development and plasticity |
| Fuzheng Guo, Ph.D. | Neural development; glial differentiation, myelination and remyelination in neurological disorders and animal models |
| Gene Gurkoff, Ph.D. | Developing therapies to improve neural connectivity for patients with neurological disease |
| Amanda E. Guyer, Ph.D. | Adolescent neurodevelopment in health and depression, anxiety, and substance use |
| Tim Hanks, Ph.D. | Neural mechanisms of decision making and related disorders of brain function |
| Johannes Hell, Ph.D. | Molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurotransmission at synapses in the brain |
| Petr Janata, Ph.D. | Cognitive neuroscience of music |
| Wilsaan M. Joiner, Ph.D. | Sensorimotor integration, motor learning/control, and clinical applications. |
| Neal Kroll, Ph.D. | Human memory |
| Pamela J. Lein, Ph.D. | Impacts of environmental stressors on the developing and aging brain |
| Steven J. Luck, Ph.D. | Basic and translational cognitive neuroscience |
| A. Kimberley McAllister, Ph.D. | Synapse formation and plasticity; neuroimmune contributions to development and disease |
| John H. Morrison, Ph.D. | Neurobiology of aging and neurodegenerative disorders; Cortical structure and function |
| Karen Moxon, Ph.D. | Neural encoding and plasticity; neuroprosthetics; neuroengineering; brain-machine interfaces |
| Yuko Munakata, Ph.D. | Cognitive control over thoughts and actions, influences, consequences and mechanisms |
| Karl D. Murray, Ph.D. | Brain development |
| Manuel F. Navedo, Ph.D. | Mechanisms controlling vascular function in health and disease |
| Stephen C. Noctor, Ph.D. | Development of cortical structures in the central nervous system |
| Alex Nord, Ph.D. | Genomics in the brain development, function and disorders |
| Christine Wu Nordahl, Ph.D. | Neuroimaging to study brain development in autism across the life span. |
| Lisa Oakes, Ph.D. | Origins and early development of mental abilities in infancy |
| Beth Ober, Ph.D. | Biological, cognitive, health and mental health life phases: Adulthood, aging |
| David E. Olson, Ph.D. | Compound-induced neural plasticity and the development of neurotherapeutics |
| Carolynn Patten, Ph.D., P.T., F.A.P.T.A. | Neural basis of human movement; investigating human motor control and learning from a perspective of neuromechanics |
| Dan Ragland, Ph.D. | Behavioral, functional neuroimaging and electrophysiology methods; brain networks in learning and memory; effects of schizophrenia on learning and memory |
| Charan Ranganath, Ph.D. | Neural basis and functional organization of human learning and memory |
| Gregg Recanzone, Ph.D. | Role of the cerebral cortex in the perception of auditory signals and age-related hearing loss |
| Stephen K. Robinson, Ph.D. | Augmentation and extension of human capabilities and performance in safety-critical environments. |
| Michael A. Rogawski, M.D., Ph.D. | Cellular and synaptic neurophysiology; neurosteroids; epilepsy and migraine; drug development. |
| Cynthia M.Schumann, Ph.D. | Cellular and molecular developmental trajectory of brain regions related to anxiety and autism |
| Julie Schweitzer, Ph.D. | Attention and impulsivity in children and adults in typical development and in ADHD |
| David J. Segal, Ph.D. | Genome and epigenomic editing for the study and treatment of neurologic disorders |
| Kia Shahlaie, M.D., Ph.D. | Deep brain stimulation techniques to improve learning and memory function; traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease |
| Jeffrey Sherman, Ph.D. | Cognitive processes underlying social psychology and behavior; stereotyping and prejudice |
| Sergi Simo, Ph.D. | Neuronal migration and related disorders |
| Tony Simon, Ph.D. | Attention, and spatial and temporal processing in development and neurodevelopmental disorders |
| Marjorie Solomon, Ph.D., M.B.A. | Cognitive neuroscience and autism specturm disorders |
| Johnna Swartz, Ph.D. | Brain development and the development of mood and anxiety disorders |
| Lin Tian, Ph.D. | Tool development for analyzing and engineering functional neural circuits; Molecular mechanisms of neurological disorders |
| Brian Trainor, Ph.D. | Effects of stress on the brain and behavior; mood and anxiety disorders |
| James Trimmer, Ph.D. | Cell signaling in mammalian neurons, neuronal cell biology, membrane protein trafficking and function, affinity reagent development and validation |
| Jennifer L. Whistler, Ph.D. | Effects of clinically important drugs and drugs of abuse on the brain |
| Brian Wiltgen, Ph.D. | Neurobiology of learning and memory |
| Weijian Yang, Ph.D. | Optical methods in brain research; functional organization and plasticity of neural circuits |
| Andrew Yonelinas, Ph.D. | Memory, perception and amnesia |
| Jie (JZ) Zheng, Ph.D. | Human memory and emotion, human intracranial electrophysiology and neuromodulation |
| Karen Zito, Ph.D. | Molecular and cellular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in learning and disease |