This month’s featured researcher is Hava Siegelmann, who is a Professor in the College of Information and Computer Science. Hava runs the Biologically Inspired Neural & Dynamical Systems (BINDS) Laboratory. She recently returned to UMass after leading an artificial intelligence initiative for the Department of Defense. This month an article that she co-authored, entitled, “A modeling framework for adaptive lifelong learning with transfer and savings through gating in the prefrontal cortex“, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in which neural network modeling was used to create a process that might mimic how the prefrontal cortex uses and expands its own memory. Hava herself was recently featured in a UMass article, A Campus Visionary.

Here’s what else is new for ‘ ”University of Massachusetts” AND Amherst AND neuroscience’ in PubMed. These publications appeared on line in November. They are just a fraction of the research that occurs on campus. You can click on the PubMed ID to find the publication.

1: Murphy MC, Mejia AF, Mejia J, Yan X, Cheryan S, Dasgupta N, Destin M, Fryberg SA, Garcia JA, Haines EL, Harackiewicz JM, Ledgerwood A, Moss-Racusin CA, Park LE, Perry SP, Ratliff KA, Rattan A, Sanchez DT, Savani K, Sekaquaptewa D, Smith JL, Taylor VJ, Thoman DB, Wout DA, Mabry PL, Ressl S, Diekman AB, Pestilli F. Open science, communal culture, and women’s participation in the movement to improve science. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Sep 29;117(39):24154-24164. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1921320117. Epub 2020 Sep 14. PMID: 32929006; PMCID: PMC7533847.

2: Estrella ML, Durazo-Arvizu RA, Mattei J, Mossavar-Rahmani Y, Perreira KM, Siega-Riz AM, Sotres-Alvarez D, González HM, Gallo LC, Daviglus ML, Lamar M. Alternate Healthy Eating Index is Positively Associated with Cognitive Function Among Middle-Aged and Older Hispanics/Latinos in the HCHS/SOL. J Nutr. 2020 Jun 1;150(6):1478-1487. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxaa023. PMID: 32091597; PMCID: PMC7269746.

3: Sinha S, Jones BM, Traniello IM, Bukhari SA, Halfon MS, Hofmann HA, Huang S, Katz PS, Keagy J, Lynch VJ, Sokolowski MB, Stubbs LJ, Tabe-Bordbar S, Wolfner MF, Robinson GE. Behavior-related gene regulatory networks: A new level of organization in the brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Sep 22;117(38):23270-23279. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1921625117. Epub 2020 Jul 13. PMID: 32661177; PMCID: PMC7519311.

4: Tsuda B, Tye KM, Siegelmann HT, Sejnowski TJ. A modeling framework for adaptive lifelong learning with transfer and savings through gating in the prefrontal cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Nov 5:202009591. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2009591117. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33154155.

5: Lee NS, Beery AK. The role of dopamine signaling in prairie vole peer relationships. Horm Behav. 2020 Nov 5;127:104876. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104876. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33152338.

6: Molander O, Volberg R, Månsson V, Sundqvist K, Wennberg P, Berman AH. Development of the Gambling Disorder Identification Test: Results from an international Delphi and consensus process. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2020 Nov 21:e1865. doi: 10.1002/mpr.1865. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33220163.

7: Savitz J, Ford BN, Yeh HW, Akeman E, Cosgrove K, Clausen AN, Martell C, Kirlic N, Santiago J, Teague TK, Irwin MR, Paulus MP, Aupperle RL. Behavioral activation therapy for depression is associated with a reduction in the concentration of circulating quinolinic acid. Psychol Med. 2020 Nov 25:1-10. doi: 10.1017/S0033291720004389. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33234171.

8: Bittman EL. Entrainment Is NOT Synchronization: An Important Distinction and Its Implications. J Biol Rhythms. 2020 Nov 25:748730420972817. doi: 10.1177/0748730420972817. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33238802.