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David Freedman

TitleProfessor
InstitutionUniversity of Chicago
DepartmentNeurobiology
AddressChicago IL 60637
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    Collapse Overview 
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    Computational Cognitive and Visual Neuroscience

    Through experience, we learn to interpret the sights and sounds around us and to make decisions that move us closer to achieving our goals. Our ability to learn from and adapt to our ever changing environment is a foundation of complex behavior, as it allows us to make sense of incoming sensory stimuli and to plan successful actions. To study these questions, our laboratory uses advanced neurophysiological and behavioral techniques, in parallel with machine learning approaches for studying cognitive computations in artificial neural networks. Together, our work is providing insights into the brain mechanisms of visual learning, recognition and decision making.

    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse education and training
    M.I.T., Cambridge, MAPh.D.02/2002Systems Neuroscience
    Harvard Medical School, Boston, MAPostdoctoral03/2008Neurobiology

    Collapse Research 
    Collapse research activities and funding
    R21EY035901     (FREEDMAN, DAVID J)Feb 1, 2024 - Jan 31, 2026
    NIH
    Neural Mechanisms of Categorical Decisions and Learning During Saccade-Based Visual Foraging
    Role: Principal Investigator
    R13NS116969     (FREEDMAN, DAVID J)Sep 1, 2020 - Aug 31, 2021
    NIH
    2020 Neurobiology of Cognition Gordon Research Conference
    Role: Principal Investigator
    R01MH115555     (FREEDMAN, DAVID J)Jul 1, 2017 - Apr 30, 2022
    NIH
    CRCNS: Multiscale dynamics of cortical circuits for visual recognition & memory
    Role: Principal Investigator
    R01MH092927     (WANG, XIAO-JING)Sep 30, 2010 - May 31, 2015
    NIH
    CRCNS: Uncovering neurla circuit mechanisms of category computation and learning
    Role: Co-Principal Investigator
    R03NS067322     (FREEDMAN, DAVID JORDAN)Jul 1, 2010 - Jun 30, 2012
    NIH
    A Novel Software Tool for Controlling Behavioral and Neurophysiological Studies
    Role: Principal Investigator
    R01EY019041     (FREEDMAN, DAVID J)Jul 1, 2008 - Jun 30, 2028
    NIH
    Cortical Mechanisms of Visual Category Recognition and Learning
    Role: Principal Investigator
    F32EY015340     (FREEDMAN, DAVID JORDAN)Dec 1, 2003 - Nov 30, 2006
    NIH
    Mechanisms of Visual Trajectory Learning &Prediction
    Role: Principal Investigator

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse selected publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.
    Newest   |   Oldest   |   Most Cited   |   Most Discussed   |   Timeline   |   Field Summary   |   Plain Text
    PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Peysakhovich B, Zhu O, Tetrick SM, Shirhatti V, Silva AA, Li S, Ibos G, Rosen MC, Johnston WJ, Freedman DJ. Primate superior colliculus is causally engaged in abstract higher-order cognition. Nat Neurosci. 2024 Oct; 27(10):1999-2008. PMID: 39300307.
      Citations: 3     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    2. Tian GJ, Zhu O, Shirhatti V, Greenspon CM, Downey JE, Freedman DJ, Doiron B. Neuronal firing rate diversity lowers the dimension of population covariability. bioRxiv. 2024 Aug 31. PMID: 39257801; PMCID: PMC11383671.
      Citations:    
    3. Johnston WJ, Freedman DJ. Redundant representations are required to disambiguate simultaneously presented complex stimuli. PLoS Comput Biol. 2023 08; 19(8):e1011327. PMID: 37556470; PMCID: PMC10442167.
      Citations: 4     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    4. Zhou Y, Zhu O, Freedman DJ. Posterior Parietal Cortex Plays a Causal Role in Abstract Memory-Based Visual Categorical Decisions. J Neurosci. 2023 06 07; 43(23):4315-4328. PMID: 37137703; PMCID: PMC10255012.
      Citations: 1     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    5. Goudar V, Peysakhovich B, Freedman DJ, Buffalo EA, Wang XJ. Schema formation in a neural population subspace underlies learning-to-learn in flexible sensorimotor problem-solving. Nat Neurosci. 2023 05; 26(5):879-890. PMID: 37024575; PMCID: PMC11559441.
      Citations: 11     Fields:    
    6. Latimer KW, Freedman DJ. Low-dimensional encoding of decisions in parietal cortex reflects long-term training history. Nat Commun. 2023 02 23; 14(1):1010. PMID: 36823109; PMCID: PMC9950136.
      Citations: 6     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    7. Peysakhovich B, Tetrick SM, Silva AA, Li S, Zhu O, Ibos G, Johnston WJ, Freedman DJ. Primate superior colliculus is engaged in abstract higher-order cognition. bioRxiv. 2023 Jan 18. PMID: 36711713; PMCID: PMC9882166.
      Citations:    
    8. Lin PD, Rifas-Shiman SL, Aris IM, Daley MF, Janicke DM, Heerman WJ, Chudnov DL, Freedman DS, Block JP. Cleaning of anthropometric data from PCORnet electronic health records using automated algorithms. JAMIA Open. 2022 Dec; 5(4):ooac089. PMID: 36339053; PMCID: PMC9629892.
      Citations: 2     
    9. Zhou Y, Mohan K, Freedman DJ. Abstract Encoding of Categorical Decisions in Medial Superior Temporal and Lateral Intraparietal Cortices. J Neurosci. 2022 11 30; 42(48):9069-9081. PMID: 36261285; PMCID: PMC9732825.
      Citations: 5     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    10. Wildenberg GA, Rosen MR, Lundell J, Paukner D, Freedman DJ, Kasthuri N. Primate neuronal connections are sparse in cortex as compared to mouse. Cell Rep. 2021 09 14; 36(11):109709. PMID: 34525373.
      Citations: 13     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    11. Zhou Y, Rosen MC, Swaminathan SK, Masse NY, Zhu O, Freedman DJ. Distributed functions of prefrontal and parietal cortices during sequential categorical decisions. Elife. 2021 09 07; 10. PMID: 34491201; PMCID: PMC8423442.
      Citations: 9     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    12. Mohan K, Zhu O, Freedman DJ. Interaction between neuronal encoding and population dynamics during categorization task switching in parietal cortex. Neuron. 2021 02 17; 109(4):700-712.e4. PMID: 33326754; PMCID: PMC8177491.
      Citations: 8     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    13. Cone JJ, Bade ML, Masse NY, Page EA, Freedman DJ, Maunsell JHR. Mice Preferentially Use Increases in Cerebral Cortex Spiking to Detect Changes in Visual Stimuli. J Neurosci. 2020 10 07; 40(41):7902-7920. PMID: 32917791; PMCID: PMC7548699.
      Citations: 10     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    14. De Rossi P, Nomura T, Andrew RJ, Masse NY, Sampathkumar V, Musial TF, Sudwarts A, Recupero AJ, Le Metayer T, Hansen MT, Shim HN, Krause SV, Freedman DJ, Bindokas VP, Kasthuri N, Nicholson DA, Contractor A, Thinakaran G. Neuronal BIN1 Regulates Presynaptic Neurotransmitter Release and Memory Consolidation. Cell Rep. 2020 03 10; 30(10):3520-3535.e7. PMID: 32160554; PMCID: PMC7146643.
      Citations: 35     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    15. Johnston WJ, Palmer SE, Freedman DJ. Nonlinear mixed selectivity supports reliable neural computation. PLoS Comput Biol. 2020 02; 16(2):e1007544. PMID: 32069273; PMCID: PMC7048320.
      Citations: 28     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    16. Masse NY, Rosen MC, Freedman DJ. Reevaluating the Role of Persistent Neural Activity in Short-Term Memory. Trends Cogn Sci. 2020 03; 24(3):242-258. PMID: 32007384; PMCID: PMC7288241.
      Citations: 23     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    17. Zhou Y, Freedman DJ. Posterior parietal cortex plays a causal role in perceptual and categorical decisions. Science. 2019 07 12; 365(6449):180-185. PMID: 31296771; PMCID: PMC7346736.
      Citations: 43     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    18. Masse NY, Yang GR, Song HF, Wang XJ, Freedman DJ. Circuit mechanisms for the maintenance and manipulation of information in working memory. Nat Neurosci. 2019 07; 22(7):1159-1167. PMID: 31182866; PMCID: PMC7321806.
      Citations: 73     Fields:    
    19. Masse NY, Grant GD, Freedman DJ. Alleviating catastrophic forgetting using context-dependent gating and synaptic stabilization. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 10 30; 115(44):E10467-E10475. PMID: 30315147; PMCID: PMC6217392.
      Citations: 36     Fields:    
    20. Freedman DJ, Ibos G. An Integrative Framework for Sensory, Motor, and Cognitive Functions of the Posterior Parietal Cortex. Neuron. 2018 03 21; 97(6):1219-1234. PMID: 29566792; PMCID: PMC5884170.
      Citations: 44     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    21. Masse NY, Hodnefield JM, Freedman DJ. Mnemonic Encoding and Cortical Organization in Parietal and Prefrontal Cortices. J Neurosci. 2017 06 21; 37(25):6098-6112. PMID: 28539423; PMCID: PMC5481944.
      Citations: 25     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    22. Ibos G, Freedman DJ. Sequential sensory and decision processing in posterior parietal cortex. Elife. 2017 04 24; 6. PMID: 28418332; PMCID: PMC5422072.
      Citations: 12     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    23. Chaisangmongkon W, Swaminathan SK, Freedman DJ, Wang XJ. Computing by Robust Transience: How the Fronto-Parietal Network Performs Sequential, Category-Based Decisions. Neuron. 2017 Mar 22; 93(6):1504-1517.e4. PMID: 28334612; PMCID: PMC5586485.
      Citations: 65     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    24. Pesaran B, Freedman DJ. Where Are Perceptual Decisions Made in the Brain? Trends Neurosci. 2016 10; 39(10):642-644. PMID: 27623195; PMCID: PMC5048592.
      Citations: 3     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    25. Ibos G, Freedman DJ. Interaction between Spatial and Feature Attention in Posterior Parietal Cortex. Neuron. 2016 Aug 17; 91(4):931-943. PMID: 27499082; PMCID: PMC5015486.
      Citations: 28     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    26. Freedman D, Bao Y, Shen L, Schaefer CA, Brown AS. Maternal T. gondii, offspring bipolar disorder and neurocognition. Psychiatry Res. 2016 Sep 30; 243:382-9. PMID: 27449007; PMCID: PMC5014658.
      Citations: 8     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    27. Freedman DJ, Assad JA. Neuronal Mechanisms of Visual Categorization: An Abstract View on Decision Making. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2016 07 08; 39:129-47. PMID: 27070552.
      Citations: 49     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    28. Sarma A, Masse NY, Wang XJ, Freedman DJ. Task-specific versus generalized mnemonic representations in parietal and prefrontal cortices. Nat Neurosci. 2016 Jan; 19(1):143-9. PMID: 26595652; PMCID: PMC4880358.
      Citations: 59     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    29. Lim S, McKee JL, Woloszyn L, Amit Y, Freedman DJ, Sheinberg DL, Brunel N. Inferring learning rules from distributions of firing rates in cortical neurons. Nat Neurosci. 2015 Dec; 18(12):1804-10. PMID: 26523643; PMCID: PMC4666720.
      Citations: 45     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    30. Engel TA, Chaisangmongkon W, Freedman DJ, Wang XJ. Choice-correlated activity fluctuations underlie learning of neuronal category representation. Nat Commun. 2015 Mar 11; 6:6454. PMID: 25759251; PMCID: PMC4382677.
      Citations: 33     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    31. McKee JL, Riesenhuber M, Miller EK, Freedman DJ. Task dependence of visual and category representations in prefrontal and inferior temporal cortices. J Neurosci. 2014 Nov 26; 34(48):16065-75. PMID: 25429147; PMCID: PMC4244472.
      Citations: 38     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    32. Murray JD, Bernacchia A, Freedman DJ, Wallis JD, Cai X, Padoa-Schioppa C, Pasternak T, Seo H, Lee D, Wang XJ, Romo R. A hierarchy of intrinsic timescales across primate cortex. Nat Neurosci. 2014 Dec; 17(12):1661-3. PMID: 25383900; PMCID: PMC4241138.
      Citations: 391     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    33. Ibos G, Freedman DJ. Dynamic integration of task-relevant visual features in posterior parietal cortex. Neuron. 2014 Sep 17; 83(6):1468-80. PMID: 25199703; PMCID: PMC4170682.
      Citations: 32     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    34. Swaminathan SK, Masse NY, Freedman DJ. A comparison of lateral and medial intraparietal areas during a visual categorization task. J Neurosci. 2013 Aug 07; 33(32):13157-70. PMID: 23926269; PMCID: PMC3735888.
      Citations: 17     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    35. Rishel CA, Huang G, Freedman DJ. Independent category and spatial encoding in parietal cortex. Neuron. 2013 Mar 06; 77(5):969-79. PMID: 23473325; PMCID: PMC3740737.
      Citations: 45     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    36. Fitzgerald JK, Freedman DJ, Fanini A, Bennur S, Gold JI, Assad JA. Biased associative representations in parietal cortex. Neuron. 2013 Jan 09; 77(1):180-91. PMID: 23312525; PMCID: PMC3545205.
      Citations: 19     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    37. Asaad WF, Santhanam N, McClellan S, Freedman DJ. High-performance execution of psychophysical tasks with complex visual stimuli in MATLAB. J Neurophysiol. 2013 Jan; 109(1):249-60. PMID: 23034363; PMCID: PMC3545163.
      Citations: 56     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    38. Fitzgerald JK, Swaminathan SK, Freedman DJ. Visual categorization and the parietal cortex. Front Integr Neurosci. 2012; 6:18. PMID: 22582040; PMCID: PMC3348721.
      Citations: 12     
    39. Freedman DJ. Familiarity breeds plasticity: distinct effects of experience on putative excitatory and inhibitory neurons in inferior temporal cortex. Neuron. 2012 Apr 12; 74(1):8-11. PMID: 22500625.
      Citations:    Fields:    Translation:Animals
    40. Swaminathan SK, Freedman DJ. Preferential encoding of visual categories in parietal cortex compared with prefrontal cortex. Nat Neurosci. 2012 Jan 15; 15(2):315-20. PMID: 22246435; PMCID: PMC3293250.
      Citations: 105     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    41. Fitzgerald JK, Freedman DJ, Assad JA. Generalized associative representations in parietal cortex. Nat Neurosci. 2011 Jul 17; 14(8):1075-9. PMID: 21765425; PMCID: PMC3145031.
      Citations: 51     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    42. Freedman DJ, Assad JA. A proposed common neural mechanism for categorization and perceptual decisions. Nat Neurosci. 2011 Feb; 14(2):143-6. PMID: 21270782.
      Citations: 61     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    43. Freedman DJ, Assad JA. Distinct encoding of spatial and nonspatial visual information in parietal cortex. J Neurosci. 2009 Apr 29; 29(17):5671-80. PMID: 19403833; PMCID: PMC2898938.
      Citations: 46     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    44. Meyers EM, Freedman DJ, Kreiman G, Miller EK, Poggio T. Dynamic population coding of category information in inferior temporal and prefrontal cortex. J Neurophysiol. 2008 Sep; 100(3):1407-19. PMID: 18562555; PMCID: PMC2544466.
      Citations: 192     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    45. Freedman DJ, Miller EK. Neural mechanisms of visual categorization: insights from neurophysiology. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2008; 32(2):311-29. PMID: 17950874.
      Citations: 42     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    46. Freedman DJ, Assad JA. Experience-dependent representation of visual categories in parietal cortex. Nature. 2006 Sep 07; 443(7107):85-8. PMID: 16936716.
      Citations: 255     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    47. Freedman DJ, Riesenhuber M, Poggio T, Miller EK. Experience-dependent sharpening of visual shape selectivity in inferior temporal cortex. Cereb Cortex. 2006 Nov; 16(11):1631-44. PMID: 16400159.
      Citations: 94     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    48. Freedman DJ. Posterior parietal cortex: Space--and beyond. Neuron. 2004 Jun 24; 42(6):881-3. PMID: 15207232.
      Citations: 2     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    49. Freedman DJ, Riesenhuber M, Poggio T, Miller EK. A comparison of primate prefrontal and inferior temporal cortices during visual categorization. J Neurosci. 2003 Jun 15; 23(12):5235-46. PMID: 12832548; PMCID: PMC6741148.
      Citations: 202     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    50. Miller EK, Nieder A, Freedman DJ, Wallis JD. Neural correlates of categories and concepts. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2003 Apr; 13(2):198-203. PMID: 12744974.
      Citations: 60     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    51. Nieder A, Freedman DJ, Miller EK. Representation of the quantity of visual items in the primate prefrontal cortex. Science. 2002 Sep 06; 297(5587):1708-11. PMID: 12215649.
      Citations: 206     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    52. Miller EK, Freedman DJ, Wallis JD. The prefrontal cortex: categories, concepts and cognition. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2002 Aug 29; 357(1424):1123-36. PMID: 12217179; PMCID: PMC1693009.
      Citations: 112     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    53. Freedman DJ, Riesenhuber M, Poggio T, Miller EK. Visual categorization and the primate prefrontal cortex: neurophysiology and behavior. J Neurophysiol. 2002 Aug; 88(2):929-41. PMID: 12163542.
      Citations: 86     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    54. Freedman DJ, Riesenhuber M, Poggio T, Miller EK. Categorical representation of visual stimuli in the primate prefrontal cortex. Science. 2001 Jan 12; 291(5502):312-6. PMID: 11209083.
      Citations: 407     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
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