The group’s specific research expertise is in understanding how the brain creates neural representations of our motion to ensure the maintenance of balance and posture, as well as accurate perceptual stability during our everyday activities. The current research program has three major goals: (1) the characterization and targeted manipulation of neuronal population responses at successive stages of vestibular processing (i.e., afferents, brainstem, cerebellum, thalamus, cortex) to understand how vestibular information is combined with proprioceptive, visual, and motor signals to generate neural representations of self-motion; (2) the recording of neural ensemble activity and behavior before and after vestibular loss, and the evaluation and enhancement of treatments (e.g., neuroprosthetic devices) to improve/restore vestibular function in patients; (3) the development and testing of state-of-the-art methodologies to manipulate and monitor neural activity to bridge the gap between perception, behavior, neural circuits, and genetics. The research approach spans the fields of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, and combines behavioral, neurophysiological and computational methodologies.
Kathleen Cullen, PHD
Raj and Neera Singh Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Specialization: Predictive sensory coding: Neural circuits and computations underlying stabile perception and accurate behaviour
Contact
Johns Hopkins University
Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience, and Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
Rm. 501, Traylor Research Building, 720 Rutland Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21205, U.S.A.
410.955.3132
The overarching focus of the Cullen laboratory’s research program is in the area of systems and computational neuroscience, with an emphasis on translational approaches to restoring function.