معرفی
Michael Yartsev is an Associate Professor in Bioengineering, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, and Berkeley Nanosciences and Nanoengineering Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms underlying complex spatial navigation, acoustic communication, and social behaviors using bats as model organisms. Key areas include developing wireless neural recording technologies for freely flying bats and studying vocal learning mechanisms through optogenetic tools. His lab's FAB (Fully Automated Bat) flight room enables human-free navigation studies. Current projects explore hippocampal coding of social interactions, spatial navigation in 3D environments, and the evolutionary basis of vocal learning.
Research Interests:
- Neural basis of vocal learning and imitation
- 3D spatial navigation in flying mammals
- Social coordination and collective behavior
- Neural ensemble activity during complex behaviors
- Development of neurotechnology for freely moving animals
Recent work highlights hippocampal representation of human experimenters, auditory feedback's role in vocal plasticity, and motor cortex evolution for flight/echolocation. Notable collaborations include the BRAIN Initiative's EAGER grant for wireless neural recording systems.
Advising & Grants: Active grant support from NIH BRAIN Initiative (BRAIN EAGER: Going All Wireless, 2015). Mentors graduate students in neuroscience and bioengineering programs. Lab members work on interdisciplinary projects combining engineering, neuroscience, and computational modeling.
Lab Infrastructure: The FAB flight room enables long-term studies of navigation without human intervention. Custom neural recording systems developed include wireless electrode arrays and optogenetic control modules for behaving bats.
