Event Details:
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Neural mechanisms of interactive communication
Abstract
Vocal communication is central to our everyday lives, facilitating social exchange. Despite significant recent discoveries, the neural mechanisms underlying coordinated vocal exchanges remain poorly understood. In this seminar, Michael Long will examine the brain processes involved in interactive vocal behaviors with a focus on forebrain circuitry in the human brain as well as a range of animal models that share specific communication abilities with us — including the parrot, the zebra finch, and a Costa Rican vocalizing rodent. Using this comparative approach, Long will attempt to identify conserved principles of brain function and uncover circuit dynamics critical for interactive language use.
Michael Long, Ph.D.
NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Department of Neuroscience
Michael Long is the Thomas and Susanne Murphy Professor of Neuroscience and Vice Chair for Research at the NYU School of Medicine. He completed his graduate studies with Barry Connors at Brown University where he investigated the role of electrical synapses in the mammalian brain. During his postdoctoral work with Michale Fee at MIT, Long began to study the songbird model system to uncover the cellular and network properties that give rise to learned vocal sequences. Since beginning his laboratory in 2010, Long has focused his attention on the neural circuits underlying skilled movements, often in the service of vocal interactions. To accomplish this, the Long lab has taken a comparative approach, examining relevant mechanisms in the songbird, the parrot a newly characterized neotropical rodent, and humans. In addition to federal funding, the Long lab has also received support from NYSCF, the Rita Allen Foundation, the Klingenstein Foundation, and the Herschel-Weill Foundation.
Hosted by - Shaul Druckmann (Druckmann Lab)
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About the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Seminar Series
The Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute seminar series brings together the Stanford neuroscience community to discuss cutting-edge, cross-disciplinary brain research, from biochemistry to behavior and beyond.
Topics include new discoveries in fundamental neurobiology; advances in human and translational neuroscience; insights from computational and theoretical neuroscience; and the development of novel research technologies and neuro-engineering breakthroughs.
Unless otherwise noted, seminars are held Thursdays at 12:00 noon PT.
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