Computational NeuroscienceThis area of research encompasses a diverse set of approaches in which mathematical or computational tools are used to better understand the nervous system. Computer modeling ranges from simulations of the kinetics of single ion channels, to biologically realistic single-neuron models, network models, and models of cognitive processes. Experimental techniques include the creation of neural hybrid systems - interfaces between biological neurons and computer-simulated or micro-engineered components; and real-time feedback control allowing computational analysis of an ongoing data stream to be used to dynamically interact with the biological preparation. Graduate training in Computational Neuroscience is supported by an NIH training grant "From Cells to Systems and Applications: Computational Neuroscience Training at Emory & Georgia Tech". Each year, 3 incoming students are selected as new Fellows and are awarded 2 year stipends through this training grant. Graduate Fellows complete the general Neuroscience program requirements, including core computational neuroscience training activities. These include a regularly scheduled Methods Clinic and Journal Club that are designed to familiarize experimentalists with computational and theoretical approaches, and vice versa. Applicants to the Neuroscience graduate program interested in this training program should contact the Training Program Director, Prof. Dieter Jaeger for further details. Also see our website for more information: Computational Neuroscience Training Grant Faculty with interests in Computational Neuroscience:Ronald Calabrese rcalabre@biology.emory.eduTraining FacultyClick To View My Lab WebsiteOur lab studies the neural circuit that controls the hearts of medicinal leeches. We record the electrical activity of neurons in this circuit with microelectrodes. Using voltage clamp techniques, we isolate and characterize the individual ionic currents which contribute to this activity. We also study the biophysics of synaptic transmission and the role of background calcium in synaptic plasticity using Ca imaging. To understand how membrane currents and synaptic transmission interact to produce the activity of the circuit, we simulate the ionic currents and cell connectivity with realistic biophysical models. We also use such models in real time simulation to construct hybrid systems between computer and neuron to analyze circuit and neuronal function. We address the general questions of how rhythmic motor patterns are generated and coordinated by networks of interneurons and how these patterns are used to produce the final pattern of activity in motor neurons that produce functionally coordinated movement.  Dieter Jaeger djaeger@emory.eduTraining FacultyClick To View My Lab WebsiteWe combine electrophysiological recordings and detailed compartmental modelling to examine how neurons in the basal ganglia and in the cerebellum process their inputs. In particular we are interested in the functional role of inhibitory inputs and the role of active neural properties in network processing. We also apply these concepts to investigate the mechanisms underlying the clinical effects of deep brain stimulation using multisite recordings in anesthetized rodents.  Andrew Jenkins ajenki2@emory.eduTraining FacultyThe GABAA receptor is the most abundant fast inhibitory neurotransmitter receptor in the CNS. Our goal is to understand how neurosteroids, general anesthetics, sedative and anxiolytic drugs, alter the function of the receptor to mediate their clinically useful effects. We typically do this by using combinations of site directed mutagenesis, patch clamp electrophysiology and computational modeling. It is our hope that through a better understanding of receptor function, we will also gain a better understanding of the role receptor dysfunction plays in diseases such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and autism.  Shella Keilholz shella.keilholz@bme.gatech.eduAssociate FacultyClick To View My Lab WebsiteClick To View My Department Website My lab focuses on developing imaging methods to study networks of activity in the brain, primarily using MRI in rodents and humans. We are especially interested in mapping the spatiotemporal aspects of network function in the brain and relating the MRI signals to the underlying neural activity using concurrent fMRI and electrophysiology. Current projects include looking at the behavioral relevance of dynamic network activity; using intrinsic signal fluctuations to map networks of synchronized activity in the rat brain and their neural origins; and manipulating network activity via surgical or chemical interventions to tease out directional influences within the network.  Robert Liu Robert.Liu@emory.eduTraining FacultyClick To View My Lab WebsiteOur Computational Neuroethology laboratory is interested in understanding how behaviorally-relevant sensory signals are encoded by cortical neurons, and what factors (e.g. experience, hormones) might lead to plastic changes in that code. We investigate this in the mouse, where ultrasonic communication between animals provides a natural behavioral context for these studies, and transgenic methods offer future possibilities for mechanistic dissection of coding mechanisms. We perform electrophysiology in non-anesthetized mice, and employ computational methods to analyze the information processing capabilities of neurons.  Ilya Nemenman ilya.nemenman@emory.eduTraining FacultyClick To View My Lab WebsiteUsing methods of theoretical physics and machine learning to develop functional, coarse-grained models of information processing in systems biology, including: reverse-engineering cellular networks, creation of efficient tools for their modeling and analysis, studies of learning and adaptation in sensory systems, and development of large-scale neuromimetic signal processing systems.  Steve M. Potter steve.potter@bme.gatech.eduAssociate FacultyClick To View My Lab WebsiteNew Neuroscience Technologies for Studying Learning in Vitro. We are merging software, hardware, and wetware in a new paradigm for neurobiology research, "Embodied Cultured Networks." It brings together top-down (cognitive, behavioral, ethological) and bottom-up cellular, molecular) approaches to studying the brain. We are applying Multi-electrode array culture dishes, 2-photon time-lapse microscopy, and High-speed imaging of neural activity to study cultured networks of hundreds or thousands of mammalian neurons. We are especially interested distributed activity patterns and information processing in these cultured networks. We give them a body, either simulated or robotic, and an environment in which to behave. We developed a real-time feedback system for 2-way communication between a computer and a cultured neural network. In collaboration with Dr. Robert Gross in Neurosurgery, we are using our closed-loop stimulation and recording technology to develop methods for treating epilepsy with electrical stimulation. Information for potential students: Click here  Astrid Prinz astrid.prinz@emory.eduTraining FacultyClick To View My Lab WebsiteI study the signal processing and homeostatic regulation in small neural networks with a combination of computational and experimental approaches. Current research projects include the computational exploration of homeostatic regulatory mechanisms in neural circuits, the construction, visualization and analysis of high-dimensional model datasets, and the investigation of synchronization in networks of neural oscillators with hybrid techniques.  Sam Sober samuel.j.sober@emory.eduTraining FacultyClick To View My Lab WebsiteSuccessfully producing complex behavior requires that neurons in the brain produce a pattern of muscular activation that in turn results in the desired behavioral output. My research on singing behavior in finches investigates the relationship between these very different levels of description - neural activity, muscular activation, and task performance - by using a range of techniques to describe how neural circuits drive vocal output and are modified by sensorimotor experience. This work combines physiological recordings from neurons and muscles, behavioral manipulations, and computational approaches to describe the interplay between sensory feedback, motor production, and neural plasticity.  Lena Ting lting@emory.eduTraining FacultyClick To View My Lab WebsiteHow do we move so elegantly through unpredictable and dynamic environments? In my lab, we study balance control and locomotion in humans and animals to understand the organization of neural mechanisms underlying motor behaviors in general. Using a novel combination of engineering and neurophysiology techniques, and an interplay of experimental and computational studies, we are studying sensorimotor processes underlying muscle coordination in both heath and disease. Our work integrates ideas from neuroscience, biomechanics, robotics, rehabilitation, physiology, psychology, and cognitive science, addressing how neural circuits, musculoskeletal properties, adaptive process, and perception shape how we move.  Stephen Traynelis strayne@emory.eduTraining FacultyClick To View My Lab WebsiteMy laboratory studies the basic mechanisms underlying the function and regulation of ligand gated ion channels involved in excitatory synaptic transmission. Our goal is to use this information to understand normal brain functions that involve synaptic transmission such as learning and memory. In addition, information about regulation of the ion channels involved in excitatory synaptic transmission may provide insight into the neuropathology of epilepsy and stroke.  |
||
|
Ready To Get Started?
If you are ready to get started with Emory's Neuroscience Graduate program, click here to apply now!
|
||
S. Sanyal Lab - Single neuromuscular synapse formed by two motor neurons stained for synaptotagmin (red) and expressing GFP in one motor neuron (green)
|
||
L. Howell Lab - Brain activation elicited by cocaine in a single nonhuman primate (fMRI)
|
||
L. Young Lab - Monogamous prairie vole family
|
||
|
VIEW ALL RESEARCH
Want to see more research?
Click here to go inside Emory's Neuroscience Graduate Program labs and get an up close look at the latest in Emory innovation. |
||