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Rosalyn E. Weller
| EDUCATION: Postdoctoral training in Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, SUNY-Stony Brook, 1983-1986 Ph.D. in Psychology, 1982, Vanderbilt University B.S., 1976, Pennsylvania State University RESEARCH PROGRAM: Dr. Weller is interested in determining the contributions that particular areas of visual cortex and thalamus make to vision in primates. Dr. Weller is presently focusing her research on inferior temporal cortex, which functions in the perception and recognition of complex visual stimuli such as objects. In order to assess how areas function in vision, Dr. Weller has used primarily behavioral and neuroanatomical techniques in her research. In the latter studies, tracers were injected in cortex to reveal the axonal projections of neurons making inter-areal (extrinsic) and intra-areal (intrinsic) connections. Dr. Weller is also beginning functional brain imaging studies (using functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI) in human and non-human primates. The non-human primate studies, done in collaboration with Dr. Tim Gawne of UAB's Vision Science Research Center on a new 4.7T vertical magnet, is using fMRI to determine the functional architecture of subdivisions of inferior temporal cortex. One set of human fMRI studies, using a new 3T magnet, is being done in collaboration with Dr. James Cox to determine the neural bases of hunger and satiety. Dr. Weller is also collaborating with Drs. Jesse Milby and Edwin Cook (Medical Psychology) to use fMRI to determine patterns of brain activation in cocaine-dependent subjects before and after treatment for their addiction as shown in the images above. REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS: Weller, R. E. (1988) Two cortical visual systems in Old World and New World primates. In G. Benedek and T. P. Hicks (eds.): Vision Within Extrageniculo-striate Systems. Plenum Press, pp. 293-306. Weller, R. E. and J. H. Kaas (1989) Parameters affecting the loss of ganglion cells of the retina following ablations of striate cortex in primates. Visual Neuroscience 3: 327-349. Steele, G. E., R. E. Weller, and C. G. Cusick (1991) Cortical connections of the caudal subdivision of the dorsolateral area (V4) in monkeys. Journal of Comparative Neurology 306: 495-520. Steele, G. E. and R. E. Weller (1993) Subcortical connections of subdivisions of inferior temporal cortex in squirrel monkeys. Visual Neuroscience 10: 563-583. Steele, G. E. and R. E. Weller (1995) Qualitative and quantitative features of axons projecting from caudal to rostral inferior temporal cortex of squirrel monkeys. Visual Neuroscience 12: 701-722. Weller, R. E., D. M. White, and M. M. G. Walton (2000) Intrinsic connections in the caudal subdivision of the dorsolateral visual area (DLC) in squirrel monkeys. Journal of Comparative Neurology 420: 52-69. OTHER: Ad hoc reviewer for The Journal of Neuroscience, The Journal of Comparative Neurology, Visual Neuroscience, and Experimental Brain Research Member of Editorial Board of Visual Neuroscience TEACHING INTERESTS: Dr. Weller teaches brain and behavior courses at various levels, animal behavior, and introductory psychology. |
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