About the Eagleman Laboratory for Perception and ActionThe long range goal of our lab is to understand how the brain constructs perception, how different brains do so differently, and how this matters for society. To that end, our four main prongs involve time perception, sensory substitution, synesthesia, and neurolaw. Eagleman Laboratory for Perception and ActionELPA_7978f0da-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbcDavid M. Eagleman, Ph.DDepartments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine -- Lab Director -- I am a neuroscientist with joint appointments in the Departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. My areas of research include time perception, vision, synesthesia, social neuroscience, and the intersection of neuroscience with the legal system. I direct the Laboratory for Perception and Action, and am the founder and director of Baylor College of Medicine’s Initiative on Neuroscience and Law. I am the founder and Chief Scientific Officer for BrainCheck, a company which uses interactive testing on portable tablets to measure brain function. BrainCheck is currently being used in schools for rapid concussion assessment at the sidelines. I have written some non-fiction books, including Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, Wednesday is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia, Why the Net Matters, and Cognitive Neuroscience (Oxford University Press, upcoming 2014, co-authored with Jonathan Downar). Public understanding of science is a passion of mine, and to that end I have written for the New York Times, Discover Magazine, Atlantic, The Week, Slate, Wired, New Scientist, and others. I speak often on National Public Radio and BBC to discuss what's new and important in science. I have founded a prize in mathematics and physics. I am fortunate to be a Guggenheim Fellow. Within the scientific community, I serve as an editor for Journal of Vision, PLoS One, and Seminars in Brain and Consciousness. I also serve on the board of directors for several organizations, including The Long Now Foundation. My book of fiction, Sum, was lucky enough to become an international bestseller. It has been translated into 27 languages and was named a Best Book of the Year by Barnes and Noble, New Scientist, and the Chicago Tribune. British musician Brian Eno and I performed a musical reading of Sum at the Sydney Opera House, and German composer Max Richter translated Sum into a full opera at the Royal Opera House in London. My neuroscience book Incognito became a New York Times bestseller, and was named a Book of the Year by Amazon, Goodreads, Houston Chronicle, and Boston Globe. No one is writing an opera for that one yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I am the author and presenter of THE BRAIN, an international 6-hour series and companion book. In them, I pose a simple question from a neuroscientist's point of view: what does it mean to be human?Pablo OrmacheaPostdoctoral Research Fellow -- Pablo is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where he won its largest student writing prize, served as co-Editor-in-Chief for the Harvard Latino Law Review, and co-Chair for the Harvard Latin American Law Society. He has won several fellowships for international work, both for public service and for research abroad. As a Research Fellow in the Initiative on Neuroscience and the Law, Pablo studies patterns of crime and the efficacy of legislation using large scale database analysis. Publications: McArthur, K., & Ormachea, P. (2007). International investor-state arbitration: an empirical analysis of ICSID decisions on jurisdiction. The Review of Litigation, 28(3), 559-594. Ormachea, P. (2008). An empirical analysis of state ethanol production incentives: do they work? Texas Review of Litigation, 4(1), 130-144.Gabe HaarsmaPostdoctoral Research Fellow -- Gabe spearheads the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law’s big data analysis of millions of crime records. He graduated from Texas A&M with a PhD in chemical engineering and a specialization in Process Control. This experience exposed Gabe to his love of data analysis, visualization and mathematical model building. Gabe spends his days coding in the statistical language R to analyze and visualize patterns of crime and recidivism.Ricky SavjaniGraduate Student (MD/PhD) -- Ricky has been forever challenged by the mysteries of neuroscience. As an undergraduate at MIT, he quickly realized the power of computational modeling as a tool in understanding the brain. He wanted to integrate both of these sciences in a unique way and earned dual degrees in Brain and Cognitive Sciences as well as Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Ricky soon became interested in translating these discoveries to people and patients and is currently pursuing an MD/PhD through Texas A&M. At the Eagleman Lab, Ricky wants to help bring the innovating science to the clinic.Sasha DavenportResearch Fellow -- Sasha is a Ronald E. McNair Scholar with a BA in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she won the Leadership and Visionary Award and studied psychological coercion, false confessions and interrogations. As an undergrad, she started an expert witness business specializing in neuropsych assessment and psychopharmacology research for civil and criminal trials. She is currently a graduate student working toward her PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience at Queens College, and has presented research on neuropsychology and asymmetric warfare at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Sasha is a Research Fellow at the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law, and is interested in the neural relationship between the empathy, aggression and criminal behavior trajectories.Anna JarmanResearch Fellow -- Anna joined the Initiative to study how early psychosocial and biological factors contribute to criminal behavior. As an undergraduate at Rice University, she became interested in developmental psychopathology while interning in the Baylor/Menninger Human Neuroimaging Laboratory. Her background includes health policy research for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and three years refining ethical and methodological standards for surgical trials at the Methodist Hospital Research Institute.Robert Brockman IIResearch Assistant -- Robert is a graduate student at Rice University working on his MBA and Masters in Electrical Engineering. His undergraduate degree from Rice was also in Electrical Engineering supplemented with substantial coursework in computer science and cognitive science. His main research interests are machine learning, robotics, and artificial intelligence. He has many years of experience as an IT professional, especially Linux system administration. On the rare occasions that he is not enmeshed with computers he can be found swing dancing and at acrobatic yoga classes.Josh JacksonLab Programmer -- Josh is a computer guru who has been writing software since he first found a book on the subject in his elementary school library. After spending some time in industry he is returning to academia in hopes of pursuing the hard problem of consciousness and the question of friendly artificial intelligence.Seán JudgeResearch Coordinator -- Seán is the Lab Manager, bringing organization and sanity to the activities here. Outside the lab, Seán is one of Houston's most sought-after actors. Seán has always been fascinated by the inner workings of the human brain, and thrives as part of an exciting research environment.Eagleman Lab AlumniAidin AshooriMedical StudentElyse AurbachResearch AssistantJames BargerResearch AssistantGregory BohuslavU.H. Undergraduate Research StudentHannah BosleyResearch AssistantGreg BrownResearch AssistantBenjamin BumannResearch AssistantMingbo CaiGraduate StudentChristopher ChenUndergratudate Summer StudentSherry ChengResearch AssistantJennie ChoeYale Undergraduate Summer StudentSara ChurchillResearch AssistantDaniel DascencoInternational Summer StudentEvan DelacruzProgrammerMatthew FiestaSummer Research Medical StudentShilpa GandhiResearch AssistantJosh HestermanRice Undergraduate Summer StudentMehwish IsmailyStanford Undergraduate StudentArielle KaganHarvard Undergraduate Summer StudentKeith KlineGraduate StudentMike LaraBCM Medical StudentFrancis LawrenceResearch AssistantRobert LiKamWaProgrammerLeo LinbeckSummer studentKristian MarlowResearch AssistantHarsha MittikaniBCM Medical StudentLillian NiakanYale Undergraduate Summer StudentScott NovichGraduate StudentVani PariyadathGraduate Student and Postdoctoral FellowBrent ParsonsResearch AssistantGiovanni Piantoni, Research AssistantMark PlittResearch AssistantJames RylandResearch AssistantDeepak Sagaram, MDGraduate Research AssistantA. Karthik Sarma, MDNeurology collaboratorSarah SchwettmanResearch AssistantManu SharmaClinical ResearcherJyotpal SinghLaw student, Research AssistantThomas SpragueResearch AssistantChess StetsonGraduate StudentDaisy Thompson-LakeResearch AssistantJosh TillesProgrammerMatthew TimberlakeBCM Medical StudentSteffie Tomson, Ph.DRejnal TusheRice undergraduate Research AssistantDon VaughnResearch AssistantHelen VoResearch AssistantWilber WangRice undergraduate summer studentSarah WeinzimmerResearch Assistant_7978f300-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbcTo understand how the brain constructs perception, how different brains do so differently, and how this matters for society._7978f3f0-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbcTime PerceptionAddress the relationship between the timing of perception and the timing of neural signals._7978f562-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc1To understand the neural mechanisms of time perception, we combine psychophysical, behavioral, and computational approaches to address the relationship between the timing of perception and the timing of neural signals. We are currently engaged in experiments that explore temporal encoding, time warping, manipulations of the perception of causality, time perception in schizophrenia, and time perception in high-adrenaline situations. We use this data to explore how neural signals processed by different brain regions come together for a temporally unified picture of the world._7978f63e-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbcSensory SubstitutionDevelop a vibratory vest to allow those with deafness or severe hearing impairments to perceive auditory information._7978f706-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc2Plasticity and Sensory Substitution -- Can sensory data be fed through unusual sensory channels? And can the brain learn to extract the meaning of such information streams? Yes and yes. Sensory substitution is a non-invasive technique for circumventing the loss of one sense by feeding its information through another channel. We are leveraging this technique to develop a non-invasive, low-cost vibratory vest to allow those with deafness or severe hearing impairments to perceive auditory information through small vibrations on their torso._7978f7ce-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbcSynesthesiaStudy the perceptual condition in which information between the senses is blended._7978f8a0-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc3SynesthetesDo you think you might be a synesthete? Go to synesthete.org to find out.ResearchersAre you a researcher? Have your test subjects enter your email in the 'Share results with a researcher?' field, and you will be automatically emailed a link to view their results.Synesthesia is a perceptual condition in which information between the senses is blended. Our laboratory has worked to understand synesthesia from three angles. First, we have collected and rigorously verified over 20,000 synesthetes (Novich, Cheng, Eagleman, 2011). Second, performed high-throughput neuroimaging to understand the small differences in brain circuitry that cause synesthesia (Tomson et al, 2012, in preparation). Finally, we performed a family linkage analysis to pull the gene for synethesia (Tomson et al, 2011). Collection & VerificationCollect and verify synesthetes._7978f968-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc3.1NeuroimagingPerform neuroimaging to understand the small differences in brain circuitry that cause synesthesia._7978fa30-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc3.2Genetic AnalysisPerformed family linkage analysis to pull the gene for synethesia._7978fb20-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc3.3Testing & QuantificationDevelop a standardized battery for testing and quantifying synesthesia._7978fbf2-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc3.4To speed and standardize the study of synesthesia, we developed a standardized battery for testing and quantifying the phenomenon at synesthete.org. This battery of questionnaires and online software is free and open to the public, and provides a rigorous, standardized scoring system.NeuroLawBuild evidence-based policy._7978fcc4-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc4David M. Eagleman, Ph.DDr. Eagleman is the director of Baylor College of Medicine's Initiative on Neuroscience and Law, which studies how new discoveries in neuroscience should navigate the way we make laws, punish criminals, and develop rehabilitation. The project brings together a unique collaboration of neurobiologists, legal scholars, and policy makers, with the goal of building modern, evidence-based policy.Baylor College of MedicineAlong with his primary appointment at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Eagleman serves as a faculty affiliate at the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center, as well as adjunct faculty at Rice University.Criminal Justice Instituteat the University of Houston Law CenterRice UniversityNeurobiologistsLegal ScholarsPolicy MakersLaws, Punishment & RehabilitationStudy how new discoveries in neuroscience should navigate the way we make laws, punish criminals, and develop rehabilitation._7978fdaa-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc4.1ConferencesHost a bi-annual Conference on Neuroscience and Law._7978fe86-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc4.2CoursesTeach yearly neurolaw seminar courses._7978ff62-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc4.3StudentsProfessionalsOther Projects_7979005c-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc5Other projects in our lab include illusory motion reversal, the flash lag effect, a theory of cerebellar glomeruli, extracellular calcium as a neurotransmitter, and dopamine and human decision-making._79790138-e4cb-11e5-9423-3409514a5bbc2016-03-07http://www.eaglemanlab.net/OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net