Maria Geffen
Professor
Department of Psychology
University of Pennsylvania
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Lab Overview
Our research expands the boundaries of our understanding of neuronal circuits that support auditory cognition. Auditory perception is shaped by the interaction of sensory inputs with our expectations, experiences, emotions, and cognitive states. Decades of research have characterized how neuronal response properties to basic sounds, such as tones or whistles, are transformed in the auditory pathway of passively listening subjects. Much less well-understood is how the brain creates a perceptual representation of a complex auditory scene, i.e., one that is composed of a myriad of sounds, and how this representation is shaped by learning and experience. Over the last twelve years, our laboratory has made transformative progress in the quantitative understanding of neuronal circuits supporting dynamic auditory perception, through a combination of behavioral, electrophysiological, optogenetic, and computational approaches.
Faculty Hosts: Ming-fai Fong and Hannah Choi