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Department of Psychological Sciences

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Contact Information

Email
(615) 322-6029
61 Wilson Hall

Research Area

Education

B.A., Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin, Psychology, 1959
Ph.D., Psychology, Duke University, 1965 - Thesis Advisor: I.T. Diamond
Postdoctoral Fellow, Neurophysiology, University of Wisconsin, 1965-1968 - Sponsor: C.N. Woolsey

Advising

Societies

  • Society for Neuroscience
  • Society of Experimental Psychologists
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • National Academy of Science
  • Cajal Club

Jon Kaas

Distinguished Centennial Professor of Psychology
Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences

Kaas's major research interests are in the evolution and functional organization of sensory-perceptual, cognitive, and motor systems, especially in primates, in the development of these systems, and in how these systems are plastic in response to injury and use in developing and adult brains. Special research emphasis is placed on studying visual, auditory and somatosensory systems, but current studies are also concerned with multimodal and sensorimotor integration in parietal and frontal cortex. Research questions are addressed with a range of electrophysiological, neuroanatomical, biochemical, and behavioral techniques. Teaching interests are in neuroscience, biological psychology, and animal behavior.

Current Research

  • Single and multielectrode recordings of neurons in primary somatosensory cortex of monkeys.
  • Optical imaging of functional subdivisions of visual cortex in monkeys.
  • Studies of anatomical connections of neural networks in brain systems devoted to somatosensory, visual, auditory, motor, and gustatory functions in monkeys.
  • Studies of brain architecture.

Research Associates

  • Iwona Stepniewska, Research Assistant Professor, Ph.D. 1985 in Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland. Major Research Interests: visual and motor systems, and the organization of the thalamus in primates.
  • Hui-Xin Qi, Research Assistant Professor, Ph.D., 1996 in Neurophysiology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.  Major Research Interests: neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of somatosensory systems of primates, and plasticity of somatosensory and motor systems in adult and developing primates.
  • Christine Collins, Research Assistant Professor, Ph.D., 1998 in Biopsychology, Cornell University, Ithica, New York. Major Research Interests: visual system; brain plasticity; genetics of brain organization; scaling factors in brain evolution.

Previous Positions

  • Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin, Neurophysiology Dept. 1968-1972.
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Quick Links

Doctoral Program Concentrations

Upcoming Events

5/29/2012 at 12:00 pm
Dissertation Defense

316 Wilson Hall

 
Katy Thakkar (Park Lab)
Tuesday, May 29th, 2012
12:00pm
316 Wilson Hall

"Inhibition and Monitoring of Saccadic Eye Movements in Schizophrenia"

5/30/2012 at 7:00 pm
Dissertation Defense

316 Wilson Hall

 
Mary Baldwin (Kaas Lab)
Wednesday, May 30th, 2012
7:00pm
316 Wilson Hall

"Connections of the Superior Colliculus with Visual Brain Structures in Galagos, Tree Shrews, and Gray Squirrels"

10/11/2012 at 4:00 pm
Psychological Sciences Colloquium Series

Location TBA

 
Matthew Nock, Ph.D.
Harvard University
Thursday October 11, 2012
4:00pm

Location, title and abstract TBA

11/1/2012 at 4:00 pm
Psychological Sciences Colloquium Series

Location TBA

 
Anthony Wagner, Ph.D.
Stanford University
Thursday November 1st, 2012
4:00pm


Location, title and abstract TBA

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