Project Description

Humans and animals rely strongly on vision to navigate through their environment, using what we see to interpret both our own movement and that of objects in the world around us. Sometimes the task seems straightforward (e.g. catching a ball rolling across the ground) and at other times more complex (e.g., not driving off the road during a snowstorm), but both require that we use vision to estimate movement speed and direction. Which parts of the brain are responsible for making that determination and how do they process incoming signals to extract information about the visual world?

We will work towards answering these questions by combining three experimental techniques: 1) 2-photon imaging using a mesoscope to record from multiple brain regions simultaneously, 2) dense multi-electrode arrays to record temporally precise neural activity within a brain region, and 3) optogenetics and pharmacology to perturb and manipulate neural activity in certain brain areas. We expect to dissect the neural circuits and mechanisms involved in these processes and gain insights into their impairments in the neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. 

Start Date

Beginning in winter 2021, but as late as Summer 2021

Postdoc Qualifications

We are looking for a focused, organized, and ambitious postdoctoral researcher with a PhD in Neuroscience, Biology or Engineering. Prior experience with imaging and/or electrophysiology is desired but not required.

Co-Advisors

Dr. Alexander Chubykin, Assistant Professors of Biological Sciences, chubykin@purdue.edu

Dr. Maria C. Dadarlat Makin, Assistant Professors of Biomedical Engineering, mdadarla@purdue.edu

References

Three-dimensional nanoscopy of whole cells and tissues with in situ point spread function retrieval
F Xu, D Ma, KP MacPherson, S Liu, Y Bu, Y Wang, Y Tang, C Bi, T Kwok, ...
Nature Methods 17 (5), 531-540

Visual Experience-Dependent Oscillations and Underlying Circuit Connectivity Changes Are Impaired in Fmr1 KO Mice
ST Kissinger, Q Wu, CJ Quinn, AK Anderson, A Pak, AA Chubykin
Cell reports 31 (1), 107486

Top-Down Feedback Controls the Cortical Representation of Illusory Contours in Mouse Primary Visual Cortex
A Pak, E Ryu, C Li, AA Chubykin
Journal of Neuroscience 40 (3), 648-660

Oscillatory encoding of visual stimulus familiarity
ST Kissinger, A Pak, Y Tang, SC Masmanidis, AA Chubykin
Journal of Neuroscience 38 (27), 6223-6240

Locomotion Enhances Neural Encoding of Visual Stimuli in Mouse V1
Maria C Dadarlat , Michael P Stryker
J Neurosci. 2017 Apr 5;37(14):3764-3775