Dr. Richard Born

Biography

Richard Born, M.D., is a Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on understanding the circuitry of the mammalian cerebral cortex and how this circuitry endows the ability to see, hear, think, and talk. His approach primarily investigates the visual cortex of alert monkeys trained to report specific aspects of visual experience. This method allows him to define the neural correlates of specific percepts and study the underlying mechanisms for activating and inactivating components of the circuit. Employing techniques such as extracellular electrophysiology with both single and multi-electrode arrays, Born's lab complements this approach with circuit tracing using genetically modified rabies viruses and microstimulation to insert specific signals into cortical circuits. The lab's current projects include dissecting parallel pathways in the visual system and probing cortico-cortical feedback mechanisms, particularly examining the connectivity and morphology of neurons in feedback pathways, essential for understanding how information is integrated across distributed target areas.

Research Interests