Investigating how the brain learns to predict the sensory world. Dr Rebecca Jordan Simons ESAT Fellow 1 George SquareEdinburgh, EH8 9JZContact details Email: rjordan3@ed.ac.uk Personal profile2023 - present: Simons ESAT Fellow2018 - 2023: Postdoctoral fellow, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Switzerland2018: PhD in neuroscience at the Francis Crick Institute2013: BA in Natural Sciences, University of CambridgeResearch ThemeSynapses, Circuits and BehaviourResearchWe 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:How the locus coeruleus integrates information, like prediction errors, to generate a meaningful output relevant for learning.How both cortical and neuromodulatory prediction errors act to drive cortical plasticity.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. FundingERC, Starting Grant 2024Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain Bridge to Independence AwardSimons Initiative for the Developing BrainLab membersPaige Windmill (PhD student)Scott Ye (PhD student)Maria Banqueri Lopez (Research technician)Selected PublicationsJordan, 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 This article was published on 2022-11-29