Michael Kahana

Michael Kahana is the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on the neural mechanisms of human memory, combining behavioral, computational, and neurophysiological methods. He investigates how memory is encoded, organized, and retrieved through models like the Temporal Context Model (TCM) and the Context Maintenance and Retrieval (CMR) model. His lab uses electrocorticographic (ECoG) recordings from neurosurgical patients to study neural activity during memory tasks, particularly in the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe.

Education: BA from Case Western Reserve University; PhD in Psychology from the University of Toronto.

Research interests include behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, with a focus on episodic and spatial memory. Key topics include neural oscillatory correlates of memory, cognitive neuromodulation (e.g., RAM project for memory restoration), and the role of hippocampal theta rhythms in memory encoding and retrieval. His work bridges computational models with experimental data to explain phenomena like contiguity effects, proactive interference, and age-related memory decline.

Recent articles highlight neural biomarkers of aging, theta network dynamics, and hippocampal activity during memory tasks. Collaborative projects involve neuromodulation techniques to enhance memory in neurological disorders. His lab's findings contribute to both basic science and translational applications in clinical neurology and neuroscience.