Lewis B. Haberly

 

 

Analysis of the Operation of Neuronal Circuitry in Cerebral Cortex

E-mail: lhaberly@wisc.edu

Research Strengths: Behavior: Cognition and Emotion, Neural Circuits, Neurobiology of Disease

My research is concentrated in 2 areas: learning and memory, and epilepsy. A variety of physiological and anatomical approaches are used including patch recording in brain slices from neurons visualized with Nomarski optics, impalement of neurons with microelectrodes in anesthetized rats for combined anatomical-physiological analysis, visualization of spatial patterns of neuronal activity by immunocytochemically detecting activity-induced gene expression, and recording of neuronal activity in behaving rats with implanted electrodes.

In our studies of learning and memory, we are exploring 'content addressable memory' processes in the cerebral cortex similar to those being developed for artificial neural networks. Ongoing research includes studies of neuronal connectivity, physiological analysis of synaptic plasticity, study of the ensemble coding of sensory information, and analysis of functional roles of fast EEG rhythms. Our studies of epileptogenesis are currently focusing on neuronal mechanisms that underlie the spread of seizures into normal cortex from focal areas of origin.

Selected Publications:

• Ekstrand, J.J., M.E. Domroese, D.M.G. Johnson, S.L. Feig, S.M. Knodel, M. Behan, and L.B. Haberly. 2001. A new subdivision of anterior piriform cortex and associated deep nucleus with novel features of interest for olfaction and epilepsy. J. Comp. Neurol. 434: 308-328. [PDF]
• D.M.G. Johnson, K.R. Illig, M. Behan, and L.B. Haberly. 2000. New features of connectivity in piriform cortex visualized by intracellular injection of pyramidal cells suggest that 'primary' olfactory cortex functions like 'association' cortex in other sensory systems. J. Neurosci. 20: 6974-6982. [PDF]
• Hoffman, W.H. and L.B. Haberly. 1996. Epileptiform potentials in slices of piriform cortex from kindled rats originate in the endopiriform nucleus. J. Neurophysiol. 76: 1430-1438.