Roberto A. Gulli, PhD

Neuroscientist

Columbia University

New York City, NY

My long-term goal is to run a research program at the nexus of two pursuits: (1) To discover how prior experience shapes decision-making processes through functional interactions across cortical and subcortical brain regions; and (2) To develop and test novel therapeutics for disorders of memory and decision-making. This research will bridge a critical gap in understanding the interactions between memory and decision-making in health and disease.

I completed a Ph.D. in rhesus macaque behavior and neurophysiology, where I tested competing theories of spatial and non-spatial hippocampal function. I discovered that spatial activity in the hippocampus is task-dependent and can be attributed to mixed sensory, mnemonic, and spatial representations (Gulli et al. 2020, Nature Neuroscience). I am currently pursuing postdoctoral work at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute with Dr. Daniel Salzman (monkey behavior and neurophysiology) and Dr. Stefano Fusi (theoretical neuroscience).

news

Jun 14, 2024 I’ll be chairing the 2024 Gordon Research Seminar on The Neurobiology of Cognition immediately preceding the associated Gordon Research Conference (July 20-25, 2024). Check out our full schedule, apply, and register to attend!
May 1, 2024 Interested in next-generation electrophysiology in NHPs? Check out details of the latest platform we have developed at Columbia University for precise targeting of deep brain structures using the new NHP-Neuropixels probes.
Mar 16, 2024 I’ve published a comprehensive review of every electrophysiological study of the non-human primate hippocampus conducted up to 2020, along with a computational theory of hippocampal function. This is online now as a Reference Module in Neuroscience, and will be a chapter of the forthcoming Enclyclopedia of the Human Brain, Second Edition (September 2024).
Jun 1, 2023 I’ve officially started my K99/R00 Transition to Independence Award through NINDS! I’m thrilled to have support for my future research program at the nexus of basic neuroscience research and clinical efforts to treat human diseases of cognition.
Jul 6, 2022 Another branch of my doctoral work is out now in Neuron. We show that electrophysiological characteristics across the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex during associative memory imply different computational functions of these brain areas. Check out other hippocampal work from my PhD published in Nature Neuroscience.

selected publications

  1. Studies of Hippocampal Function in Non-Human Primates
    Roberto A. Gulli, , and Julio C. Martinez-Trujillo
    Encyclopedia of the Human Brain, 2nd Edition 2024
  2. Distinct neural codes in primate hippocampus and lateral prefrontal cortex during associative learning in virtual environments
    Benjamin W. Corrigan, Roberto A. Gulli, , Guillaume Doucet, Megan Roussy, Rogelio Luna, Kartik S. Pradeepan, Adam J. Sachs, and Julio C. Martinez-Trujillo
    Neuron 2022
  3. Context-dependent representations of objects and space in the primate hippocampus during virtual navigation
    Roberto A. Gulli, , Lyndon R. Duong, B W Corrigan, Guillaume Doucet, Sylvain Williams, Stefano Fusi, and Julio C. Martinez-Trujillo
    Nature Neuroscience 2020
  4. Cross-species 3D virtual reality toolbox for visual and cognitive experiments
    Guillaume Doucet, Roberto A. Gulli, , and Julio C. Martinez-Trujillo
    Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2016