Position Title
Professor and Department Chair
Barbara A. Horwitz and John M. Horowitz Endowed Chair in Physiology
- Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior
Research Interests
Our research is funded by the N.I.H and the NSF.
The long-term goal of the Usrey laboratory is to understand the functional properties of neural circuits that serve vision and the relationship between cell physiology, circuit activity, behavior and perception. Current research projects are focused on determining (1) how sensory information is processed and transmitted within and between brain areas, (2) the cellular and circuit mechanisms that mediate the effects of spatial attention on visual processing, (3) the role of feedback pathways for vision, and (4) the relationship between neural activity and visual perception. Using an arsenal of techniques, we are discovering how sensory information is established and encoded in brain activity, as well as the mechanisms employed by the brain for communicating information dynamically from one level to the next.
The Usrey laboratory is also home to Brainmaps.org, an interactive, high-resolution digital brain atlas and virtual microscope for students, educators, and researchers.
Graduate Program Affiliations
- 1987 B.A. in Animal Physiology, Anthropology University of California, San Diego
- 1989 M.S. in Physiology, San Diego State University
- 1994 Ph.D. in Neurobiology, Duke University