Understanding
the Brain:
clues from
the visual system
Saturday, November 17th, 2007, 3-5pm
Fe Bland Auditorium, Santa Barbara City College
West Campus, Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93109.
Edward Callaway, Ph.D is a professor in the Systems Neurobiology Laboratories, at the Salk Institute in
La Jolla, California. Work in his laboratory is aimed at understanding how neural circuits give rise to perception and behavior. Studying the organization and function of neural circuits in the brain’s visual cortex may better understand how specific neural components contribute to the computations that give rise to visual perception.
They employ anatomical and physiological methods, both in living creatures and in the laboratory, to reveal neuronal circuitry and to identify emergent functional properties of the component neurons. Present studies focus on the relationships between local circuits in the primary visual cortex and early parallel visual pathways.
Relating neural circuits to functions in the visual system, where correlations between neural activity and perception can be directly tested, provides fundamental insight into the basic mechanisms by which cortical circuits mediate perception, understanding and thought.
Dr. Edward Callaway earned his Bachelor of Science from Stanford University; his Ph.D from California Institute of Technology; he is a Postdoctoral fellow of Rockefeller University. He heads a team of 14 postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and scientific investigators. http://www.snl-c.salk.edu