Overview
Research in my laboratory concerns how sensory and motor systems work together, and how neural representations play a combined role in sensorimotor and cognitive processing (embodied cognition).
Most of our work concerns the interactions between vision and hearing. We frequently perceive visual and auditory stimuli as being bound together if they seem likely to have arisen from a common source. That's why we tend not to notice that the speakers on TV sets or in movie theatres are located beside, and not behind, the screen. Research in my laboratory is devoted to investigating the question of how the brain coordinates the information arising from the ears and eyes. Our findings challenge the historical view of the brain's sensory processing as being automatic, autonomous, and immune from outside influence. We have recently established that neurons in the auditory pathway (inferior colliculus, auditory cortex) alter their responses to sound depending on where the eyes are pointing. This finding suggests that the different sensory pathways meddle in one another's supposedly private affairs, making their respective influences felt even at very early stages of processing. The process of bringing the signals from two different sensory pathways into a common frame of reference begins at a surprisingly early point along the primary sensory pathways.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
·
2011 - Present
Psychology & Neuroscience,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of Neurobiology
·
2011 - Present
Neurobiology,
Basic Science Departments
Professor of Computer Science
·
2019 - Present
Computer Science,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
·
2024 - Present
Biomedical Engineering,
Pratt School of Engineering
Member of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience
·
2006 - Present
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience,
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
·
2008 - Present
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences,
University Institutes and Centers
Recent Publications
Visually evoked activity and variable modulation of auditory responses in the macaque inferior colliculus.
Journal Article Journal of neurophysiology · May 2025 How multisensory cues affect processing in early sensory brain areas is not well understood. The inferior colliculus (IC) is an early auditory structure that is visually responsive (Porter KK, Metzger RR, Groh JM. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104: 17855-1 ... Full text CiteMultiplexing of visual-auditory signals in a predominantly auditory brain region.
Preprint · January 30, 2025 Full text Link to item CiteSpike Count Analysis for MultiPlexing Inference (SCAMPI).
Preprint · September 15, 2024 Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Neurobiology Training Program
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029Understanding language production after right hemisphere stroke using lesion symptom mapping.
ResearchMentor · Awarded by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders · 2022 - 2027Medical Scientist Training Program
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPreceptor · Awarded by National Institute of General Medical Sciences · 2022 - 2027View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
University of Pennsylvania ·
1993
Ph.D.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor ·
1989
M.S.