Dr Rebecca Jordan

Personal profile

• 2023 - present: Simons ESAT Fellow
• 2018 - 2023: Postdoctoral fellow, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Switzerland
• 2018: PhD in neuroscience at the Francis Crick Institute
• 2013: BA in Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge

Research Theme

• Synapses, Circuits and Behaviour

Research

We are remarkably capable of distinguishing sensory inputs caused by our own movements and very similar sensory inputs caused by external sources. To achieve this, our brains must learn to predict incoming sensory information. Our aim is to understand how the brain learns to predict the sensory world, with a particular focus on how the cortex and neuromodulatory systems work together to achieve this. To this end, we study the mouse brain at the neurophysiological level using a combination of virtual reality systems, electrophysiology, behaviour, and optical methods.

Our current main research focuses are:

1. How the locus coeruleus integrates information, like prediction errors, to generate a meaningful output relevant for learning.
2. How both cortical and neuromodulatory prediction errors act to drive cortical plasticity.
3. How neuromodulatory and cortical activity is altered in mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders, and what behavioural impact this has.

By answering these questions, we hope to drive a new understanding of how the brain learns to predict the sensory world, and how the process may be altered in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Funding

• ERC, Starting Grant 2024
• Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain Bridge to Independence Award
• Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain

Lab members

• Paige Windmill (PhD student)
• Scott Ye (PhD student)
• Maria Banqueri Lopez (Research technician)

Selected Publications

Jordan, R. 2024. The locus coeruleus as a global model failure system. Trends In Neurosciences. 47, 92–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2023.11.006 

Jordan, R. and Keller, G.B. 2023. The locus coeruleus broadcasts prediction errors across the cortex to promote sensorimotor plasticity. eLife 12, RP85111. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.85111.3 

Vasilevskaya, A., Widmer, F.C., Keller, G.B., and Jordan, R., 2023. Locomotion-induced gain of visual responses cannot explain visuomotor mismatch responses in layer 2/3 of primary visual cortex. Cell Reports, 42, 112096. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112096 

Jordan, R., 2021. Optimized protocol for in vivo whole-cell recordings in head-fixed, awake behaving mice. STAR Protoc. 2, 100347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100347 

Jordan, R., and Keller, G.B., 2020. Opposing Influence of Top-down and Bottom-up Input on Excitatory Layer 2/3 Neurons in Mouse Primary Visual Cortex. Neuron. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2020.09.024 

Jordan, R., Kollo, M., and Schaefer, A.T., 2018. Sniffing fast: paradoxical effects on odor concentration discrimination at the levels of olfactory bulb output and behavior. eNeuro ENEURO.0148-18.2018. https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0148-18.2018 

Information for students:

Willingness to discuss research projects with undergraduate and postgraduate students: YES - please click here