Anirvan Nandy, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and of PsychologyCards
About
Titles
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and of Psychology
Biography
I have a broad background in signal processing, psychophysics, and computational modeling from pre-doctoral and doctoral work. My doctoral research resulted in the first comprehensive model of visual crowding, a ubiquitous phenomenon in peripheral vision that severely degrades our ability to identify objects in clutter. Crowding is especially detrimental in patients with central vision loss. We also demonstrated that the oculomotor system has a remarkable ability to rapidly and persistently adapt to simulated central vision loss in normally sighted human subjects. During my post-doctoral training at the Salk Institute, I employed advanced electrophysiological and optogenetic techniques in the alert non-human primate to investigate the neuronal mechanisms of shape processing and attention in the visual cortex. My research has uncovered the detailed spatio-temporal structure of shape processing in neurons in visual area V4, a critical area for both shape processing and attention. Our results force us to reconsider the established notion that neuronal invariance increases as one traverses the cortical hierarchy. I have investigated the causal role of low-frequency correlated variability in neural activity on attentive behavior. Further, I have uncovered the cortical layer-specific organization of attentional modulation in the visual cortex. Together, these studies promise to significantly advance our current understanding of the cortical circuits of attention.
Appointments
Neuroscience
Assistant ProfessorPrimaryDepartment of Psychology
Assistant ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Senior Research Associate
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies (2017)
- Research Associate
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies (2015)
- Research Associate
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies (2013)
- PhD
- University of Southern California, Psychology (2010)
- MS
- National Technological University, Electrical Engineering (2002)
- BTech
- Indian Institute of Technology, Electrical Engineering (1994)
Research
Overview
Perception and cognition depend crucially on the ability of our sensory cortical systems to select behaviorally relevant stimuli for detailed inspection while ignoring distractors. Neurons in the neocortex are embedded in a layered (or laminar) structure, and there are stereotypical patterns of anatomical connectivity in this layered cortical architecture and these connectivity motifs are shared across sensory modalities, leading to the idea of a canonical information processing circuit. By studying the functional dynamics of these intricate layered circuits while animals are engaged in challenging visuo-spatial tasks and naturalistic social behaviors, we hope to discover fundamental principles of information flow through the cortex, and how this information flow is modulated by brain and behavioral state. These investigations will significantly advance our understanding of the mechanisms of cognition and ultimately help us understand disease conditions in which information flow is disrupted.
Medical Research Interests
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
News
News
- October 22, 2024Source: Yale News
‘Visual Clutter’ Alters Information Flow in the Brain
- April 17, 2023
Orchard & Xu Honored With 2023 Kavli Postdoctoral Fellowship
- November 20, 2017
Two Junior Faculty Named to Endowed Scholar Positions