EAGLEMAN LAB - The Laboratory for Perception and Action

The 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. Our three main prongs involve time perception, synesthesia, and neurolaw (see below).

Postdoctoral position available in the lab

Time perception
To 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.

  • For more about our time research, see coverage by Discovery Channel, BBC, PBS, BBC radio, or Discover Magazine. For extra credit in the time domain, do all five at once.
  • We have recently published our free fall experiments that explore time warping during high adrenaline situations. See Stetson, Fiesta, Eagleman. Does time really slow down during fearful situations? PLoS One.

    • Synesthesia
    Synesthesia is a perceptual condition in which information between the senses is blended. We are performing a family linkage analysis to pull the gene for synethesia (see articles in UT Medical Magazine [pdf], Houston Chronicle, and Seed Magazine). To this end, we have developed a standardized battery for synesthesia at synesthete.org. This battery of questionnaires and online software is free and open to the public, and provides a rigorous, standardized scoring system for quantifying synesthetia. We hosted the American Synesthesia Association annual meeting here in Houston in October, 2005.

    My book on synesthesia with Richard Cytowic will be coming out later this year: Hearing Colors, Tasting Sounds: The Kaleidoscopic Brain of Synesthesia (MIT Press, 2008).
    Click on the play button to watch recent coverage of our research on the Discovery Channel

    Neuroscience and Law
    I am founder and director of BCM'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.

    We hosted a Conference on Neuroscience and Law on May 23, 2008, which drew an attendance of 300 people.

    See more information about my yearly seminar class on Neuroscience and Law.

    I am a faculty affiliate at the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center.

    Hear a C-SPAN podcast of a recent talk I gave on Neuroscience and Law.

    Other Projects

    Other 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.

    Lab Members
    See full details on all the members of the laboratory here.

    • David Eagleman, Director
    • Vani Pariyadath, Graduate Student
    • Shilpa Gandhi, Research Assistant
    • Steffie Nelson, Graduate Student
    • Thomas Sprague, Rice undergraduate Research Student
    • Rejnal Tushe, Rice undergraduate Research Assistant
    • Gregory Bohuslav, U.H. Undergraduate Research Student
    • Robert LiKamWa, Programmer
    • Sherry Cheng, UT Austin Undergraduate Research Assistant
    • Elyse Aurbach, Research Assistant
    • Giovanni Piantoni, Research Assistant
    • Jyotpal Singh, Law student, Research Assistant
    • Mehwish Ismaily, Stanford undergraduate student
    • Matthew Timberlake, BCM Medical Student
    • Sara Churchill, Research Assistant
    • Melisa Moncure, J.D., Research associate
    • Gregory Brown, Research Assistant
    • Don Vaughn, Stanford undergraduate student
    • A. Karthik Sarma, M.D., Neurology collaborator
    		 Lab alumni:
    • Chess Stetson, Graduate Student
    • Keith Kline, Graduate Student
    • Arielle Kagan, Harvard undergraduate summer student
    • Wilber Wang, Rice undergraduate summer student
    • Daniel Dascenco, International summer student
    • Matthew Fiesta, Summer Research Medical Student
    • Deepak Sagaram, M.D., Graduate Research Assistant
    • Helen Vo, Research Assistant
    • Josh Hesterman, Rice undergraduate summer student

    Partial 2008 Talk Schedule
    April 9, 2008 - Houston - University of Houston Law Center, Criminal Justice Institute
    April 19, 2008 - New York - Colors of the Brain - Columbia University & MoMA
    April 26, 2008 - Houston - Conference for Rice Alumni Leaders
    May 23, 2008 - Houston - Conference on Neuroscience and Law
    May 26, 2008 - San Antonio - Distinguished Speaker, Mind Science Foundation
    May 29, 2008 - New York - World Science Festival
    July 17-18, 2008 - Albuquerque - Conference on Learning and Neuroscience
    July 18-23, 2008 - Brisbane, Australia - Asia Pacific Conference on Vision
    July 25, 2008 - New Zealand - NeuroLaw talk for New Zealand Ministry of Justice
    July 27-29, 2008 - Aspen - Conference on Consciousness
    October 6-7, 2008 - Barcelona - The Nature of Time, from Physics to Psychology
    October 13-15, 2008 - Munich - The clock's time, the brain's time and the mind's time
    October 21, 2008 - Houston - Scientia series on Biopolitics, Rice University

     
    PUBLICATIONS
    • Eagleman DM (2008). Human time perception and its illusions. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. In press.

    • Eagleman DM (2008). Prediction and Postdiction: two frameworks with the goal of delay compensation. Commentary in Brain and Behavioral Sciences. 31(2):205-206. [Full text][Full article]

    • Fiesta MP, Eagleman DM (2008). A method for achieving an order-of-magnitude increase in the temporal resolution of a standard computer monitor. Journal of Neuroscience Methods. In press. doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2008.06.020
      [Full text]

    • Kline KA, Eagleman DM (2008). Evidence against the snapshot hypothesis of illusory motion reversal. Journal of Vision. 8(4):13, 1-5. [Full text][Web Demo].

    • Eagleman DM (2008). Temporality, empirical approaches. The Oxford Companion to Consciousness. Oxford, UK. In press.

    • Eagleman DM (2008). Neuroscience and the Law. Houston Lawyer. 16(6): 36-40. [Full text]

    • Pariyadath V, Eagleman DM (2008). Duration illusions and what they tell us about the brain. In Advances in Cognitive Science: Volume 2. Eds: Srinivasan, Kar, & Pandey. Sage books. In press.

    • Eagleman DM (2008). Envenomation by the Asp Caterpillar, Megalopyge Opercularis. Clinical Toxicology. 46(3):201-5. [Full text]

    • Eagleman DM (2008). How does the timing of neural signals map onto the timing of perception? In Problems of Space and Time in Perception and Action, R. Nijhawan, Ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. In press.

    • Eagleman DM (2008). Brain Time. In New Questions (tentative title), M. Brockman, Ed. Vintage Books. In press.

    • Eagleman DM (2008). Using time perception to measure fitness for duty. Proceedings of the Sustaining Performance Under Stress Symposium, Austin, TX. American Psychological Society Military Psychology. In press.

    • Stetson C, Fiesta MP, Eagleman DM (2007). Does time really slow down during a frightening event? PLoS One. 2(12):e1295. [Full text]

    • Pariyadath V, Eagleman DM (2007). The effect of predictability on subjective duration. PLoS One. 2(11):e1264. [Full text]

    • Cui X, Yang D, Jeter C, Montague PR, Eagleman DM (2007). Vividness of mental imagery: individual variation can be measured objectively. Vision Research. 47(2007): 474–478. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman DM, Sejnowski TJ (2007). Motion signals bias position judgments: A unified explanation for the flash-lag, flash-drag, flash-jump and Frohlich effects. Journal of Vision. 7(4): 1-12. http://journalofvision.org/7/4/3. [Full text]

    • Eagleman DM, Kagan AD, Nelson SN, Sagaram D, Sarma AK (2007). A standardized test battery for the study of Synesthesia. Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 159: 139-145. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Stetson C, Cui X, Montague PR, Eagleman DM (2006). Motor-sensory recalibration leads to an illusory reversal of action and sensation. Neuron. 51(5): 651-9. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman DM (2006). Futures: A brief history of death switches. Nature. 443(7113): : 882. [Full text (pdf)] [Anthologized in Futures from Nature]

    • Eagleman DM (2006) Correspondence: Will the Internet save us from epidemics? Nature. 441(7093):574.[Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman DM, Tse PU, Janssen P, Nobre AC, Buonomano D, Holcombe AO (2005). Time and the brain: how subjective time relates to neural time. Journal of Neuroscience. 25(45): 10369-71. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M. (2005) News & Views: Distortions of time during rapid eye movements. Nature Neuroscience. 8(7): 850-851. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M. (2005) Comment on "The involvement of the orbitofrontal cortex in the experience of regret". Science. 308(5726):1260. [Full text (pdf)] [Matlab code]

    • Eagleman, D.M. (2005). Obituary: Francis H. C. Crick (1916-2004). Vision Research. 45: 391-393. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Holcombe, A.O., Clifford, C.W.G., Eagleman, D.M, & Pakarian, P. (2005). Illusory motion reversal in tune with motion detectors. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 9(12):559-60. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Kline, K.A., Holcombe, A.O., Eagleman, D.M. (2005). Illusory motion reversal does not imply discrete processing: Reply to Rojas et al. Vision Research. 46(6-7):1158-9. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M. (2004). The where and when of intention. Science. 303: 1144-1146. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M., Jacobson, J.E., Sejnowski, T.J. (2004). Perceived luminance depends on temporal context. Nature. 428(6985), 854-856. [Full text (pdf)] [Web demo] [Supplementary material]

    • Kline, K.A., Holcombe, A.O., Eagleman, D.M. (2004). Illusory motion reversal is caused by rivalry, not by perceptual snapshots of the visual field. Vision Research. 44: 2653–2658. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M. & Holcombe, A.O. (2003). Improving science through online commentary. Nature. 423: 15. [Full text (pdf)] [Supplementary material]

    • Eagleman, D.M. & Sejnowski, T.J. (2003). The line-motion illusion can be reversed by motion signals after the line disappears. Perception. 32: 963-968. [Full text (pdf)] [Web demo]

    • Eagleman, D.M. & Sejnowski, T.J. (2002). Untangling spatial from temporal illusions. Trends in Neurosciences. 25(6): 293. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M. & Holcombe, A.O. (2002). Causality and the perception of time. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 6(8): 323-5. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M. & Montague, P.R. (2002) Models of learning and memory. In: Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, MacMillan Press: London. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Montague, P.R., Eagleman, D.M., McClure, S.M., Berns, G.S. (2002) Reinforcement learning. In: Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, MacMillan Press: London. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M. (2001) Visual Illusions and Neurobiology. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2(12): 920-6. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M., Coenen, O.J.D., Mitsner, V., Bartol, T.M., Bell, A.J.,Sejnowski, T.J. (2001). Cerebellar glomeruli: Does limited extracellular calcium direct a new kind of plasticity? Proc. 8th Joint Symposium in Neural Computation. [Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M. & Sejnowski, T.J. (2001). The flash-lag illusion: distinguishing a spatial from a temporal effect, and why that matters for interpreting visual physiology. Journal of Vision, 1(3), 16a.[Abstract]

    • Rao, R.P.N., Eagleman, D.M., Sejnowski, T.J. (2001) Optimal smoothing in visual motion perception. Neural Computation.13(6):1243-53.[Full text (pdf)][Abstract]

    • Eagleman, D.M. & Sejnowski, T.J. (2000) Motion integration and postdiction in visual awareness. Science. 287(5460): 2036-8. [Abstract][Full text (pdf)][Web demo]

    • Eagleman, D.M. & Sejnowski, T.J. (2000) The position of moving objects: Response. Science. 289(5482):1107a.[Full text (pdf)][Science Online]

    • Eagleman, D.M., Sejnowski, T.J. (2000) Latency difference versus postdiction: Response to Patel et al. Science. 290(5494): 1051a.[Full text (pdf)][Science Online]

    • Perret, S.P., Dudek, S., Eagleman, D., Montague, P.R., Friedlander, M.J. (2001) LTD induction in adult visual cortex: Role of stimulus pattern and inhibition. Journal of Neuroscience. 21(7): 2308-2319.[Full text (pdf)][J. Neurosci. Online]

    • King, R.D., Wiest, M.C., Montague, P.R., Eagleman, D.M. (2000) Do extracellular calcium signals carry information through neural tissue? Trends in Neurosciences. 23(1):12-13. [Abstract][Full text]

    • Wiest, M.C., Eagleman, D.M., King, R.D., Montague, P.R. (2000) Dendritic spikes and their influence on extracellular calcium signaling. Journal of Neurophysiology. 83(3):1329-1337. [Abstract][Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M., Montague, P.R. (1999) Calcium dynamics in the extracellular space of mammalian neural tissue. Biophysical Journal 76(4):1856-1867.[Abstract][Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M. (1998). Doctoral dissertation: Computational properties of extracellular calcium dynamics.[Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M., Montague, P.R. (1998). Computational properties of peri-dendritic calcium fluctuations. Journal of Neuroscience. 18(21): 8580-8589.[Abstract][Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M., Person, C., Montague, P.R. (1998). A computational role for dopamine delivery in human decision-making. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 10(5): 623-630. [Abstract][Full text (pdf)]

    • Eagleman, D.M., King, R.D., Montague, P.R. (1998). Interaction of nitric oxide and external calcium fluctuations: a possible substrate for rapid information retrieval. Prog Brain Res 1998;118:199-211 [Abstract]
      (Also pubished in Nitric Oxide and other diffusible messengers in development, plasticity, and disease. Mize,R.R., Friedlander,M.J., Dawson,T.J., Dawson,V.M., Eds. Amsterdam: Elsevier Press.)

    • Person, C., Eagleman, D.M., King, R.D., Montague, P.R. (1997). Three-dimensional synaptic distributions influence neural processing through the resource consumption principle. J. Physiol, Paris. 90(5-6):330-333. [Abstract]
    BOOKS IN PROGRESS
    • Dethronement: The secret hegemony of the Unconscious Brain. David M. Eagleman. Pantheon Books. In press for 2009.

    • Wednesday is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia. Richard E. Cytowic and David M. Eagleman. MIT Press. In press for Mar 2009.

    • Plasticity: How the Brain Reconfigures Itself. David M. Eagleman. Oxford University Press. In preparation for late 2009.

    • Unsolved Mysteries of the Brain. David M. Eagleman. Submitted to Publishers. (Cover article, Aug 2007 Discover Magazine).

    • The BioHistory Files: How the Microscopic Shapes the Macroscopic. David M. Eagleman. (Book to accompany 6 part television series on disease and world history, under consideration at Discovery Channel).

    UNDER REVIEW OR IN PREPARATION

    • Cui X, Stetson C, Montague PR, Eagleman DM. Ready...Go: fMRI signal encodes cumulative conditional probability. Under review at PLoS Biology.

    • Pariyadath V, Eagleman DM. Subjective durations contract with predictability. Under review at Journal of Vision.

    • Eagleman DM (2008). The reification of overlearned sequences: A large-scale analysis of spatial sequence synesthesia. Cortex. Invited paper.

    • Churchill, SJ, Eagleman DM. A large-scale analysis of music-color synesthesia: individual variability and why it matters. In preparation.

    • Sprague TC, Jacobson JE, Eagleman DM. Perceived duration depends on temporal context. In preparation.

    • Vaughn DA & Eagleman DM. Faces seen briefly are judged to be more beautiful. In preparation.

    • Time perception is distorted during visual slow motion. D. M. Eagleman. Manuscript in preparation.

    • How do brains simulate future(s)?  D. M. Eagleman.  In preparation for Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

    • Piantoni G, Kline KA & Eagleman DM. Beta power correlates with perception in illusory motion motion reversal. In preparation.

    • A theory of the mossy fiber - granule cell glomerulus in the cerebellum. D. M. Eagleman, O. J-M. D. Coenen, V. Mitsner, et al.

    • What the brain does not need to know about position and motion. D. M. Eagleman & D. Dennett. In preparation.

    MEDIA
    Television
    Synesthesia: One Step Beyond, Discovery Channel [Video]
    Can Time Slow Down? ABC News [Video]
    Exploring Time, Discovery Channel [Video]
    Time out of Mind, BBC 4 [Video][Article]
    Neuroscience research at the Salk Institute, PBS [Video]

    Print:
    Ten Unsolved Mysteries of the Brain, Discover Magazine
    Scared Slow - ScienCentral News, Jan 2008 (includes video)
    Time doesn’t really freeze when you’re freaked - MSNBC, Dec 12, 2007
    Free-falling scientists seek to slow time - AFP via Yahoo! News, Dec 12, 2007
    Does trauma slow down time? Research says no - Houston Chronicle, Dec 12, 2007
    Why I and O are dull for synaesthetes - New Sceintist, Nov 2007
    Wie die Zeit in den Kopf kommt - German article on Time in the brain, Oct 2007
    Finding the Gene that Makes People Hear Shapes and Taste Words, UT-Houston Medicine, May 2006
    The Mind in Overdrive, Discover Magazine, April 2006
    Synesthesia: Hearing Sounds and Seeing Colors, Houston Chroncile
    The Most Beautiful Painting You've Ever Heard, Seed Magazine, Dec 2006
    Thinking faster by altering your perception of time, by George Dvorsky, Sentient Developments
    Brain's-eye view of spinning, Newsday
    My tribute to Francis Crick, Houston Chronicle
    The Eagleman Lab and Synesthesia
    USA Today on our research on illusory motion reversal
    Grand Forks Herald - Life in slow motion
    Science Daily
    UT Houston Newsroom
    Newswise
    Imprint Online
    (Russian)
    Science-Presse (French)

    OTHER LINKS

    Yosemite

    I serve on the editorial boards of Journal of Vision and PLoS One

    I am on the board of directors for two Houston arts organizations: Nova Arts Project and Divas World Productions, Inc.

    I am a panelist on the Interdisciplines web conference on causality

    I recently spoke at the World Science Festival in NYC. If you didn't make it to the event this year, go next year -- it's incredible.

    I organized and chaired a symposium at the Society for Neuroscience meeting entitled Time and the Brain.

    Most interesting link of the month: Death Switch.

    I have founded a prize in mathematics and physics.


    Alaska

    Email: eagleman -AT- bcm.edu

    The highest activities of consciousness have their origins in physical occurrences of the brain, just as the loveliest melodies are not too sublime to be expressed by notes.
    W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM