معرفی
Marlene Cohen is a Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Chicago, where she leads the Cohen Lab as part of the Neuroscience Institute. Her research focuses on understanding how visual information is encoded in the brain and how cognitive processes like attention influence perception and decision-making. She employs a multidisciplinary approach combining electrophysiology, psychophysics, and computational modeling to investigate neural population coding across different stages of the visual pathway.
Dr. Cohen's research interests center on visual neuroscience, particularly how the brain uses visual information to guide decisions. Her work examines how attention modulates neural activity to prioritize relevant information, how cognitive states affect perceptual abilities, and how populations of neurons collectively represent visual stimuli. She investigates these questions using single and multi-electrode recordings in non-human primates performing visual tasks, providing insights into the neural mechanisms underlying flexible behavior and perception. A key aspect of her research involves understanding how correlated variability among neurons affects information processing and behavioral performance.
Analysis of Dr. Cohen's recent publications reveals a strong focus on neural population coding, attention mechanisms, and the relationship between neural activity and behavior. Her work increasingly incorporates topological and mathematical approaches to understand neural representations, while maintaining a strong foundation in experimental neuroscience. A consistent theme across her research is how cognitive processes like attention reshape neural representations to support flexible behavior, with particular emphasis on how information is multiplexed and processed across different cortical areas.
Scientific Awards:
- Eppendorf winner (2012)
Dr. Cohen has secured significant research funding as Principal Investigator on multiple NIH grants, including R01EY034723 (2022-2025), R01NS121913 (2021-2026), R01EY022930 (2013-2024), R00EY020844 (2010-2015), and K99EY020844 (2010-2011). These grants support her research on neuronal population coding, attention mechanisms, and the neural basis of flexible behavior. Her work demonstrates how attention improves performance by reshaping stimulus representations and reducing interneuronal correlations.
The Cohen Lab at the University of Chicago employs a combination of electrophysiological recordings, behavioral experiments, and computational modeling to investigate how visual information is processed in the brain. The lab's work has been recognized through artistic representations such as "Deciphering Spikes" by Greg Dunn, which visually interprets the lab's research on neural coding and attention, depicting how attention affects neuronal firing patterns with higher fidelity on the attended side of the visual field.
