Gordon Smith, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience

E-MAIL: [email protected]
Advising Statement

Research Interests:

How are the neural circuits that process sensory information built during the course of development? As the development of a circuit inevitably constrains its future function, addressing this question is critical to understanding both the function of mature circuits and how neurodevelopmental disorders give rise to sensory deficits. 

The Smith Lab uses advanced optical imaging techniques in the developing visual cortex to investigate how large populations of neurons form the networks required to process visual information. We are currently investigating the circuit mechanisms that give rise to these large-scale distributed networks and are using novel viral tools to measure and manipulate inhibitory neurons to understand the role of intracortical inhibition in network formation. In addition, we are using cutting edge optical approaches to explore the causal role of early patterned network activity in visual processing, and in an effort to determine whether abnormal spontaneous activity is a common theme linking neurodevelopmental disorders.

Lab Website: https://www.smithneurolab.org/


Selected Publications:

(For a comprehensive list of recent publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine.)

  • Mulholland HN, Jayakumar H, Farinella DM, Smith GB. All-optical interrogation of millimeter-scale networks and application to developing ferret cortex. J Neurosci Methods. 2023 Dec 23:110051.
  • Mulholland HN, Hein B, Kaschube M, Smith GB. Tightly coupled inhibitory and excitatory functional networks in the developing primary visual cortex. Elife. 2021 Dec 8;10:e72456.
  • Mulholland HN, Smith GB. Visual processing: Systematic variation in light-dark bias across visual space. Curr Biol. 2021 Sep 27;31(18):R1095-R1097.
  • Smith GB, Hein B, Whitney DE, Fitzpatrick D, Kaschube M. Distributed network interactions and their emergence in developing neocortex. Nat Neurosci. 2018;21(11):1600-1608.
  • Wilson DE*, Smith GB*, Jacob A, Walker T, Dimidschstein J, Fishell G, Fitzpatrick D. GABAergic neurons in ferret visual cortex participate in functionally specific networks. Neuron. 2017;93(5):1058-1065.
  • Dimidschstein J, Chen Q, Tremblay R, Rogers SL, Saldi GA, Guo L, Xu Q, Liu R, Lu C, Chu J, Grimley JS, Krostag AR, Kaykas A, Avery MC, Rashid MS, Baek M, Jacob AL, Smith GB, Wilson DE, Kosche G, Kruglikov I, Rusielewicz T, Kotak VC, Mowery TM, Anderson SA, Callaway EM, Dasen JS, Fitzpatrick D, Fossati V, Long MA, Noggle S, Reynolds JH, Sanes DH, Rudy B, Feng G, Fishell G. A viral strategy for targeting and manipulating interneurons across vertebrate species. Nat Neurosci. 2016;19(12):1743-1749. Erratum in: Nat Neurosci. 2017 Jun 27;20(7):1033. Update in: Nat Neurosci. 2017 Jun 27;20(7):1033.
  • Smith GB, Fitzpatrick D. Viral injection and cranial window implantation for in vivo two-photon imaging. Methods Mol Biol.  2016;1474:171-85.          
  • Smith GB*, Whitney DE*, Fitzpatrick D. Modular representation of luminance polarity in the superficial layers of primary visual cortex. Neuron. 2015;88(4):805-818.
  • Smith GB*, Sederberg A*, Elyada YM, Van Hooser SD, Kaschube M, Fitzpatrick D. The development of cortical circuits for motion discrimination. Nat Neurosci. 2015;18:252-261. * denotes equal contribution.

Current Graduate Students:

Luna Kettlewell (Neuroscience, University of Minnesota).

Haleigh Mulholland (Neuroscience, University of Minnesota).

 

Gordon Smith