Mike Avery                                                                                                      

I am currently a postdoctoral fellow in John Reynolds lab at the Salk Institute.  My research here focuses on deepening our understanding of cortical microcircuits in the primate using optogenetics as well as investigating novel viral techniques for use in clinical applications.


Past Research
My graduate work involved developing computational models of neuromodulatory systems and attention.  Specifically, I developed large-scale spiking neural network models (~50,000 neurons) of the visual system, in order toi better understand how top-down attention and neuromodulators (such as acetylcholine) interact and influence noise correlations.  I also developed models of the prefrontal cortex that include dopaminergic and noradrenergic modulation.  During this time, I worked in close collaboration with HRL laboratories on the DARPA SyNAPSE and IARPA ICArUS projects.

[1]  Optogenetics through windows on the brain in the nonhuman primate.
Ruiz, O.*, Lustig, B.R.*, Nassi, J.J.*, Cetin, A., Reynolds, J.H., Albright, T.D., Callaway, E.M., Stoner, G.R., and Roe, A.W

[2]  Active vision in marmosets: a model system for visual neuroscience
Mitchell, J., Reynolds, J., Miller, C