Richard A. Andersen
Encyclopedia
Richard A. Andersen, is an American neuroscientist
. He is the James G. Boswell Professor of Neuroscience at the California Institute of Technology
in Pasadena, California
. His research focuses on visual physiology with an emphasis on translational research to humans in the field of neuroprosthetics, brain-machine interfaces, and cortical repair.
, Andersen received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry
at the University of California, Davis
, in 1973 and his PhD in physiology under the mentorship of Professor Michael Merzenich
from the University of California, San Francisco
, in 1979. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Professor Vernon Mountcastle
at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1981. After serving as an assistant and associate professor at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California and an adjunct associate professor at the University of California, San Diego
, he moved to MIT
, first as an associate and later as a full professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Science. In 1993 he moved to Caltech to join the Division of Biology.
Andersen, an author of over 200 scientific publications, is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies as well as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, AAAS and the Neuroscience Research Program in La Jolla, California, and he holds several patents in the area of biotechnology. He has served as principal or co-investigator on dozens of grants, raising millions of dollars for basic and applied research in the visual neurosciences. Andersen has served as the director of Caltech's Sloan-Schwartz Center for Theoretical Neurobiology and MIT's McDonnell-Pew Center for Cognitive Neuroscience as well as serving on numerous advisory and editorial boards. He has delivered numerous named lectureships and has served as a visiting professor at the Collège de France
.
Awards he has received have included the McKnight Neuroscience Brain Disorders Award, NASA Tech Brief Award, the McKnight Technical Innovation in Neuroscience Award, the Spencer Award from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and the McKnight Foundation Scholars Award. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 2002.
In recent years he has extended his research to translational studies. His group has established that the intention signals from the PPC can be used as control signals for neural prosthetics. Neural prosthetics can assist paralyzed patients by recording their brain signals, interpreting them, and then allowing them to use these processed signals to control external, assistive devices such as robot limbs, computers or wheelchairs simply using by thinking about it. Another new direction the Andersen group is pursuing is the use of electrical stimulation for brain repair.
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
. He is the James G. Boswell Professor of Neuroscience at the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. His research focuses on visual physiology with an emphasis on translational research to humans in the field of neuroprosthetics, brain-machine interfaces, and cortical repair.
Biography
Born in New Kensington, PennsylvaniaNew Kensington, Pennsylvania
New Kensington is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania situated along the Allegheny River northeast of Pittsburgh. The population was 14,701 at the 2000 Census. The mayor of New Kensington is Tom Guzzo , elected in 2009. He succeeded Mayor Frank E. Link , elected in 2001.-History:New...
, Andersen received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
at the University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
, in 1973 and his PhD in physiology under the mentorship of Professor Michael Merzenich
Michael Merzenich
Michael M. Merzenich is a professor emeritus neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco. His contributions to the field are numerous. He took the sensory cortex maps developed by his predecessors like Archie Tunturi, Clinton Woolsey, Vernon Mountcastle, Wade Marshall, and Philip...
from the University of California, San Francisco
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...
, in 1979. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Professor Vernon Mountcastle
Vernon Mountcastle
Vernon Benjamin Mountcastle is Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University.He discovered and characterized the columnar organization of the cerebral cortex in the 1950s...
at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1981. After serving as an assistant and associate professor at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California and an adjunct associate professor at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, he moved to MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, first as an associate and later as a full professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Science. In 1993 he moved to Caltech to join the Division of Biology.
Andersen, an author of over 200 scientific publications, is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies as well as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, AAAS and the Neuroscience Research Program in La Jolla, California, and he holds several patents in the area of biotechnology. He has served as principal or co-investigator on dozens of grants, raising millions of dollars for basic and applied research in the visual neurosciences. Andersen has served as the director of Caltech's Sloan-Schwartz Center for Theoretical Neurobiology and MIT's McDonnell-Pew Center for Cognitive Neuroscience as well as serving on numerous advisory and editorial boards. He has delivered numerous named lectureships and has served as a visiting professor at the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
.
Awards he has received have included the McKnight Neuroscience Brain Disorders Award, NASA Tech Brief Award, the McKnight Technical Innovation in Neuroscience Award, the Spencer Award from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and the McKnight Foundation Scholars Award. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 2002.
Research
Early work centered on the discovery and elucidation of cortical gain fields, a general rule of multiplicative computation used by many areas of the cortex. Andersen and Zipser of UCSD developed one of the first neural network models of cortical function, which generated a mathematical basis for testing hypotheses based on laboratory findings. His research established that the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is involved in forming movement intentions—the early and abstract plans for movement. Previously this part of the brain was thought only to function for spatial awareness and attention. His laboratory discovered the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) in the PPC and established its role in eye movements. He also discovered the parietal reach region, an area involved in forming early reach plans. His lab has also made a number of discoveries related to visual motion perception. He established that the middle temporal area processes the perception of form from motion. He found that the perception of the direction of heading, important for navigation, is computed in the brain using both visual stimuli and eye movement signals. His lab has also determined how eye position and limb position signals are combined for eye-hand coordination.In recent years he has extended his research to translational studies. His group has established that the intention signals from the PPC can be used as control signals for neural prosthetics. Neural prosthetics can assist paralyzed patients by recording their brain signals, interpreting them, and then allowing them to use these processed signals to control external, assistive devices such as robot limbs, computers or wheelchairs simply using by thinking about it. Another new direction the Andersen group is pursuing is the use of electrical stimulation for brain repair.