|
|
 |
Undergraduate Institution and Major/Degree:
- Oregon State University, BS, Physics, 2000
- Oregon State University, BS, Engineering Physics, 2000
Major Advisor(s):
Research Description:
Neural representations are distributed. This means, information about sensory, motor, or cognitive variables is spread across a population of neurons. To get at the dynamics of information processing in the brain then requires an understanding of the neural code not only at the single cell level, but also at the population level. While a specific variable or distribution may be reflected by a population code, measures are needed that reflect the quality of such a distributed representation. My graduate work has focused on this problem through two avenues of research.
Using attractor network models, I have developed and characterized two measures of representational quality. One, coherency, uses the known response properties of individual neurons to compare the current activity pattern within an ensemble with the expected activity pattern. The result is a statistical measure of representational quality that can detect dynamic anomalies in a population’s representational state. Another measure, ensemble consistency, has the advantage that it requires no explicit assumptions regarding the tuning of neurons in the ensemble making it ideal for exploring the dynamics of deep brain structures where neuronal response parameters are controversial or unknown. With these measures, I am looking at the temporal dynamics of the hippocampal representation while rats perform tasks of increasing spatial and cognitive complexity. I am examining single cell fluctuations and ensemble (~100 simultaneously recorded neurons) modulation to clarify the role of the hippocampus in spatial and temporal processing. Finally, I am interested in exploring statistical paradigms for evaluating population activity and its relation to learning.
Lab Rotations:
-
Martha Flanders
-
Dan Kersten
-
A. David Redish
-
Bagrat Amirikian
Courses Taken Beyond the Core Courses:
- BIOC 3021 Biochemistry
- BIOL 4004 Cell Biology
- NSC 8217 Syst comp neurosci
- BIOL 4003 Genetics
- NSC 5201 Comp Neurosci I
- NSC 5202 Comp Neurosci II
- MATH 5535 Dynamical Systems and Chaos
- MATH 5651 Prob-Stat Theory
- GRAD 8101 Teaching in Higher Education
Graduate Level Minor:
Conferences Attended and Presentations:
- B. Masimore, N.C. Schmitzer-Torbert, J.C. Jackson, J. Kakalios, A.D. Redish (2004)
- "Synchronous oscillations in striatal local field potentials correlate with movement initiation" Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 30 N.C. Schmitzer-Torbert, S. Rao, J.C. Jackson, A.D. Redish (2003)
- "Changes in patterns of neural firing in the rodent dorsal striatum precede development of a regular route" Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 29. J.C. Jackson, N.C. Schmitzer-Torbert K.D. Harris, A.D. Redish (2003)
- "Quantitative assessment of extracellular multichannel recording quality using measures of cluster separation" Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 29. J.C. Jackson, A.D. Redish (2003)
- "Measuring the consistency of a neuronal representation" Computational Neuroscience Meeting A. D. Redish, N. C. Schmitzer-Torbert, and J. C. Jackson (2002)
- "Classification of dorsal striatal neurons from extracellular recordings in
awake behaving rats" Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 28.
N. C. Schmitzer-Torbert, J. C. Jackson, A. D. Redish (2002)
- "Behavioral correlates of neuronal activity in the rodent dorsal striatum: The Multiple-T task" Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 28.
J. C. Jackson, N. C. Schmitzer-Torbert, A. D. Redish (2002)
- "Behavioral correlates of neuronal ensemble in dorsal striatum on a conditioned response task" Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 28.
J.C. Jackson; J.M. Hondzinski; J.F. Soechting; M. Flanders. (2001)
- "Kinematic Adaptation To Altered Arm Properties", Neural Control of Movement conference (Seville, Spain; 2001)
Committee Members:
- A. David Redish - Advisor
- Richard E. Poppele - Chair
- John F. Soechting
- James Kakalios
Selected Publications and Presentations:
Publications:
-
N. C. Schmitzer-Torbert, J.C. Jackson, D. Henze, K. Harris, A. D. Redish
(2005) "Quantitative measures of cluster qualityfor use in extracellular recordings" Neuroscience 131(1):1-11
-
J. C. Jackson, A.D. Redish (2004) "Measuring ensemble consistency without measuring tuning curves", Neurocomputing, Vol 58-60C: 91-99
-
J.C. Jackson, A.D. Redish (2003) "Detecting dynamical changes within a simulated neural ensemble using a measure of representational quality"
Network: Computation in Neural Systems, 14:629-645.
-
M. Flanders, J.M. Hondzinski, J.F. Soechting, J.C. Jackson (2003) "Using arm configuration to learn the effects of gyroscopes and other devices." J Neurophysiol. 89(1):450-9.
Presentations:
- Jul 2004 Life Sciences Summer Research Program, Invited Speaker
(University of Minnesota) "Navigation, Memory, and Active Cognition: Measuring the dynamics of the hippocampal representation of space"
- Mar 2004 Neuroscience Graduate Program Colloquium, (University of
Minnesota) "Navigation, Memory, and Active Cognition: Measuring the dynamics of the hippocampal representation of space"
- Jun 2003 IGERT-Fest, Invited Speaker, Carnegie Mellon University,
Pittsburgh, PA "Coherency: Assessing the consitency of a neuronal ensemble"
- Feb 2003 Neuroscience Graduate Program Colloquium, (University of
Minnesota) "Coherency: Assessing the consitency of a neuronal ensemble"
- Feb 2003 IGERT talk, (University of Minnesota) "Coherency: Assessing the consitency of a neuronal ensemble"
- Mar 2002 IGERT talk, (University of Minnesota) "Coherency: Assessing the quality of a neuronal representation"
- Oct 2001 IGERT talk, (University of Minnesota) "Coherency: Assessing the quality of a neuronal representation"
Awards and Honors:
- 2000-2003, NSF-IGERT Computational Neuroscience Fellowship (University of Minnesota)
- 2000, Phi Kappa Phi, National Honors Society (Oregon State
University)
- 2000, Golden Key, National Honors Society (Oregon State
University)
- 1999-2000, Gleason Scholarship (Oregon State University)
- 1997-1998, Phi Theta Kappa, National Honors Society (Linn-Benton
Community College)
- 1997-1998, National Deans List (Phi Theta Kappa, Linn-Benton Community College)
- 1998, Rasmussen Scholarship (Linn-Benton Community College)
- 1996-1997, Linn-Benton Community College Grant
Professional Memberships:
- Institute for Eletrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE; 1997 - present) Student member.
- Society for Neuroscience (2001-present) Student member.
- Systems Man and Cybernetics Society (IEEE; 1997 - present) Student member.
Home Town:
|
|
