Michael Hasselmo

About

Michael Hasselmo is a Professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Boston University. He serves as the Director of the Computational Neurophysiology Laboratory and the Center for Systems Neuroscience. His research focuses on the cortical dynamics of memory-guided behavior, including the effects of neuromodulatory receptors and the role of theta rhythm oscillations in cortical function. Hasselmo's work employs neurophysiological techniques to analyze intrinsic and synaptic properties of cortical circuits in rats and explores how modulators influence these properties. He also utilizes computational modeling to connect physiological data to memory-guided behavior, designing experiments with multiple single-unit recordings in behavioral tasks to test model predictions. His areas of focused research include episodic memory function and theta rhythm dynamics in the entorhinal cortex, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampal formation. His research addresses physiological effects relevant to Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and depression.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Biology
• Mathematics
• Artificial Intelligence
• Mathematical analysis
• Optics
• Cognitive science
• Chemistry

Selected publications

• Egocentric boundary vector tuning of the retrosplenial cortex

  Science Advances · 2020 · 206 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The retrosplenial cortex is reciprocally connected with multiple structures implicated in spatial cognition, and damage to the region itself produces numerous spatial impairments. Here, we sought to characterize spatial correlates of neurons within the region during free exploration in two-dimensional environments. We report that a large percentage of retrosplenial cortex neurons have spatial receptive fields that are active when environmental boundaries are positioned at a specific orientation…

  PublisherDOI

• The brain in motion: How ensemble fluidity drives memory-updating and flexibility

  eLife · 2020 · 151 citations

  While memories are often thought of as flashbacks to a previous experience, they do not simply conserve veridical representations of the past but must continually integrate new information to ensure survival in dynamic environments. Therefore, 'drift' in neural firing patterns, typically construed as disruptive 'instability' or an undesirable consequence of noise, may actually be useful for updating memories. In our view, continual modifications in memory representations reconcile classical theo…

  DOI

• Trajectory-modulated hippocampal neurons persist throughout memory-guided navigation

  Nature Communications · 2020 · 72 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Trajectory-dependent splitter neurons in the hippocampus encode information about a rodent's prior trajectory during performance of a continuous alternation task. As such, they provide valuable information for supporting memory-guided behavior. Here, we employed single-photon calcium imaging in freely moving mice to investigate the emergence and fate of trajectory-dependent activity through learning and mastery of a continuous spatial alternation task. In agreement with others, the quality of tr…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Gated transformations from egocentric to allocentric reference frames involving retrosplenial cortex, entorhinal cortex, and hippocampus

  Hippocampus · 2023 · 65 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  This paper reviews the recent experimental finding that neurons in behaving rodents show egocentric coding of the environment in a number of structures associated with the hippocampus. Many animals generating behavior on the basis of sensory input must deal with the transformation of coordinates from the egocentric position of sensory input relative to the animal, into an allocentric framework concerning the position of multiple goals and objects relative to each other in the environment. Neuron…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Neurophysiological coding of space and time in the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and retrosplenial cortex

  Brain and Neuroscience Advances · 2020 · 50 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Neurophysiological recordings in behaving rodents demonstrate neuronal response properties that may code space and time for episodic memory and goal-directed behaviour. Here, we review recordings from hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and retrosplenial cortex to address the problem of how neurons encode multiple overlapping spatiotemporal trajectories and disambiguate these for accurate memory-guided behaviour. The solution could involve neurons in the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus that show m…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01DA016454

  NIH · $1.2M · 2008

• NIH Grant P50MH071702

  NIH · $17.6M · 2011

• NIH Grant R01MH051570

  NIH · $6.6M · 2020

Frequent coauthors

• Chantal E. Stern

  Boston University

  81 shared

• Lisa M. Giocomo

  Stanford University

  24 shared

• Howard Eichenbaum

  20 shared

• G. William Chapman

  Sandia National Laboratories

  20 shared

• Eric A. Zilli

  Meta (United States)

  19 shared

• Mark P. Brandon

  McGill University

  19 shared

• Randal A. Koene

  Voxiva (United States)

  17 shared

• H. Eugene Stanley

  Boston University

  17 shared

Labs

• Hasselmo LaboratoryPI

  The Hasselmo Laboratory focuses on the neural basis of memory and decision-making.

Education

• Other

  Oxford University

Similar researchers at Boston University

• Michael Ottoh-111
• Rosemary Toomeyh-60