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Eric Yttri seeks to understand how motor reinforcement areas of the brain work together to learn and generate goal-directed behavior. His research utilizes novel electrophysiological techniques with hundreds to thousands of channel electrodes, alongside behavioral methods such as reaching and locomotion tasks, as well as computational modeling methods. Yttri's ultimate aim is to delineate the specific roles of individual cell types within the motor system in order to leverage these findings for new deep brain stimulation strategies in conditions like Parkinson's disease. His work includes the interrogation of functional interactions within motor circuits, specifically focusing on the motor cortex, basal ganglia, and midbrain dopamine nuclei that lead to skilled behavior. Yttri's inclusive research approach investigates the functional interactions between different brain areas, using a combination of diverse tools to determine the neural mechanisms underlying motor behavior and associated movement diseases. He has received recognition for his innovative research and has secured patents for new electrodes capable of recording from thousands of sites simultaneously.
Carnegie Mellon University • Pittsburgh, PA
Conducting research in the areas of neurophysiology, motor control, and reinforcement learning.
Admission is extremely competitive with no strict GPA cut-offs; holistic review is used.