Brian A. Wandell

Administrative Appointments

• Director, Stanford's Center for Cognitive and Neurobiological Imaging (2010 - present)
• Chair, Psychology (2006 - 2009)

Honors and Awards

• Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2011)
• Member, National Academy of Sciences (2003)

Postdoctoral Advisees

Tae Wuk Bae,  Corentin Jacques,  Kendrick Kay,  Aviv Mazer,  Franco Pestilli,  Ariel Rokem,  Hiromasa Takemura,  Jonathan Winawer

Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations

• Neurosciences

Internet Links

• Wandell Lab

Current Research Interests

Visual perception

Professor Wandell's work in visual neuroscience uses both neuroimaging and behavior testing to understand the action of the visual portions of the brain. His team has developed a set of methods for identifying and measuring distinct and specialized regions of human visual cortex, including regions that respond powerful to motion and color. Recently, his team measured the development of brain function and reorganization following injury.

Reading development

The Wandell lab is applying a powerful set of measurement methodologies to study human brain development. In one group of studies, they are measuring the signals and growth of visual cortex in children, aged 8-12, during the period children become skilled readers. Using very high spatial resolution and neuroimaging techniques, including some methods developed by this group, the lab is hoping to understand how visual signals contribute to the neural pathways of reading. These measurements of the developmental changes during the acquisition of skilled reading are intended to explain how visual signals are rapidly identified and classified in as we read.

Publications

• Learning to see words. Wandell BA, Rauschecker AM, Yeatman JD. Annu Rev Psychol. 2012: 63 31-53
• Visual feature-tolerance in the reading network. Rauschecker AM, Bowen RF, Perry LM, Kevan AM, Dougherty RF, Wandell BA. Neuron. 2011; 71 (5): 941-53
• Plasticity and stability of visual field maps in adult primary visual cortex. Wandell BA, Smirnakis SM. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2009; 10 (12): 873-84
• Visual field maps in human cortex. Wandell BA, Dumoulin SO, Brewer AA. Neuron. 2007; 56 (2): 366-83
• White matter pathways in reading. Ben-Shachar M, Dougherty RF, Wandell BA. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2007; 17 (2): 258-70