William T. Newsome

Title
Professor

Department
Neurobiology
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Research Interests
Neural processes that mediate visual perception and visually guided behavior.

Email
bill@monkeybiz.stanford.edu

Phone
725-5814

Fax
725-3958

Address
Fairchild D209
Mail Code: 5125
http://monkeybiz.stanford.edu

Faculty Research Description
The long-term goal of our research is to understand the neuronal processes that mediate visual perception and visually guided behavior. To this end we are conducting parallel behavioral and physiological experiments in animals that are trained to perform selected perceptual or eye movement tasks. By recording the activity of cortical neurons during performance of such tasks, we gain initial insights into the relationship of neuronal activity to the animal's behavioral capacities. Hypotheses concerning this relationship are tested by modifying neural activity within local cortical circuits to determine whether behavior is effected in a predictable manner. Computer modelling techniques are then used to develop more refined hypotheses concerning the relationship of brain to behavior that are both rigorous and testable. This combination of behavioral, electrophysiological and computational techniques provides a realistic basis for neurophysiological investigation of cognitive functions such as perception, memory and motor planning.

Newsome W.T. On neural codes and perception. J. Cogn. Neurosci. 7:95-100, 1995.

Shadlen M.N., Newsome W.T. Motion perception: seeing and deciding. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 93:628-633, 1996.

DeAngelis, GC, BG Cumming and WT Newsome. Cortical area MT and the perception of stereoscopic depth. Nature 394:677-680, 1998.

DeAngelis, GC and WT Newsome. Organization of disparity-selective neurons in macaque area MT. Journal of Neuroscience 19: 1398-1415, 1999.

Nichols, MJ and WT Newsome. The neurobiology of cognition. Nature 402(SUPP):C35-C38. 1999.

Areas of Study
Systems/Behavioral Neuroscience
SBRC
Ph.D.