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Mark Laubach

 

Neuroscience

Assistant Fellow, John B. Pierce Laboratory
Assistant Professor of Neurobiology

Education

A.B. Lafayette College 1989
Ph.D. Wake Forest University 1997

Research Interests

We study how the frontal cortex and basal ganglia work together to control behavior. A topic of special interest is the role of persistent firing by frontal cortical neurons in executive control (anticipation, working memory, inhibitory control). Reaction time tasks have been most prominent in our work over the past several years. More recently, we’ve developed tasks for studying decision-making, reversal learning, and delayed alternation (spatial and temporal). Our principal methodology is neuronal ensemble recording. In addition, we use reversible inactivation methods (e.g., fluorescent muscimol), local injections of drugs, and anatomical tract-tracing methods to study brain function from a systems perspective. We also use statistical classifiers and other multivariate statistical methods to study neural coding at the single neuron and neuronal populations levels.

Links

• Laubach Homepage

Recent Publications

• Narayanan, N.S. and Laubach, M. (2006). Top-down control of motor cortex ensembles by dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Neuron 52:921-931.
• Narayanan, N.S., Kimchi, E.Y., and Laubach, M. (2005). Redundancy and synergy of neuronal ensembles in motor cortex. J. Neurosci. 25:4207-4216.

Contact

E-mail
mlaubach@jbpierce.org