Huk Lab
Principal Investigator: Alexander C Huk
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: ✅ Hiring Postdocs
Research Focus
PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Although many well-studied aspects of neural function involve activity driven by sensory inputs or occurring at the time of motor actions, the brain often links such fleeting sensory and motor signals with persistent activity. Somehow, neural circuits and individual neurons are capable of maintaining activity without additional input. This is a fundamental aspect of neural function and a critical building block of cognition. The mechanisms underlying persistent neural activity have long been considered in both experiment and theory, but there is little definitive mechanistic understanding of the circuit and cellular contributions to persistent activity. Indeed, theories of persistent activity are far more biologically nuanced than current empirical knowledge— especially in the nonhuman primate, from which our understanding should have greatest clinical relevance given the number of disorders that involve persistent activity. Here, we propose work that leverages advanced techniques for multiple scales (and specificities) of neural recordings with corresponding analyses of large- scale datasets to test detailed theories of how the brain generates and maintains…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01EY033064-05: Mechanisms of persistent neural activity (2026)
- 1R01EY040102-01: CRCNS: Ecologically-realistic perceptual decision making (2026)
- 5R34NS143713-02: Establishing a Ground Truth for Inter-Areal Neuronal Communication (2026)
- 5R01EY033064-04: Mechanisms of persistent neural activity (2025)
- 1R34NS143713-01: Establishing a Ground Truth for Inter-Areal Neuronal Communication (2025)
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