John Pearson
Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
Education & Training
Ph.D., Princeton University 2004
B.S., University of Kentucky, Lexington 1999
Overview
My research focuses on the application of machine learning methods to the analysis of brain data and behavior. I have a special interest in the neurobiology of reward and decision-making, particularly issues surrounding foraging, impulsivity, and self-control. More generally, I am interested in computational principles underlying brain organization at the mesoscale, and work in my lab studies phenomena that range from complex social behaviors to coding principles of the retina.
Location
Contact
Links
Yoo, Seng Bum Michael, et al. “Continuous decisions.” Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, vol. 376, no. 1819, Mar. 2021, p. 20190664. Pubmed, doi:10.1098/rstb.2019.0664. Full Text
Adams, Geoffrey K., et al. “Neurons in primate prefrontal cortex signal valuable social information during natural viewing.” Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, vol. 376, no. 1819, Mar. 2021, p. 20190666. Pubmed, doi:10.1098/rstb.2019.0666. Full Text
Addicott, Merideth A., et al. “Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the explore/exploit trade-off.” Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 46, no. 3, Feb. 2021, pp. 614–21. Epmc, doi:10.1038/s41386-020-00881-8. Full Text
Xu, Yunan, et al. “Machine learning prediction of neurocognitive impairment among people with HIV using clinical and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging data.” J Neurovirol, Jan. 2021. Pubmed, doi:10.1007/s13365-020-00930-4. Full Text
Michael, Valerie, et al. “Circuit and synaptic organization of forebrain-to-midbrain pathways that promote and suppress vocalization.” Elife, vol. 9, Dec. 2020. Pubmed, doi:10.7554/eLife.63493. Full Text
Mohl, Jeff T., et al. “Monkeys and humans implement causal inference to simultaneously localize auditory and visual stimuli.” J Neurophysiol, vol. 124, no. 3, Sept. 2020, pp. 715–27. Pubmed, doi:10.1152/jn.00046.2020. Full Text
McDonald, Kelsey R., et al. “Dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex track distinct properties of dynamic social behavior.” Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci, vol. 15, no. 4, June 2020, pp. 383–93. Pubmed, doi:10.1093/scan/nsaa053. Full Text
Mohl, Jeff, et al. Monkeys and Humans Implement Causal Inference to Simultaneously Localize Auditory and Visual Stimuli. Oct. 2019. Epmc, doi:10.1101/823385. Full Text
Goffinet, Jack, et al. Inferring low-dimensional latent descriptions of animal vocalizations. Oct. 2019. Epmc, doi:10.1101/811661. Full Text
McDonald, K. R., and J. M. Pearson. “Cognitive bots and algorithmic humans: toward a shared understanding of social intelligence.” Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, vol. 29, Oct. 2019, pp. 55–62. Scopus, doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.04.013. Full Text
Pages
Chang, S. W. C., et al. “Neuroethology of primate social behavior.” In the Light of Evolution, vol. 7, 2014, pp. 115–34. Scopus, doi:10.17226/18573. Full Text
Selected Grants
Motor Modulation of Auditory Processing awarded by National Institutes of Health (Co Investigator). 2020 to 2025
Neurobiology Training Program awarded by National Institutes of Health (Mentor). 2019 to 2024
Neurocomputational Approaches to Emotion Representation awarded by National Institutes of Health (Co Investigator). 2020 to 2024
Receptive field coordination across mosaics of diverse retinal ganglion cell types in the mammalian retina awarded by National Institutes of Health (Co Investigator). 2020 to 2024
Corticostriatal contributions to motor exploration and reinforcement awarded by National Institutes of Health (Co-Principal Investigator). 2020 to 2023
Quantitative Methods for HIV/AIDS Research awarded by National Institutes of Health (Training Faculty). 2018 to 2023
Real-time, all-optical interrogation of neural microcircuitry in the pretectum awarded by National Institutes of Health (Co-Principal Investigator). 2020 to 2022
Adaptive Algorithms for Automated Circuit Dissection awarded by The Swartz Foundation (Principal Investigator). 2020 to 2021
Computational Modeling of Decision Making by Prosecutors and Jurors in Criminal Justice awarded by National Science Foundation (Co Investigator). 2017 to 2021
A Systems Biology Approach to HIV-associated Neurocognitive Impairment: Role of Drug Abuse and Neuroinflammation awarded by National Institutes of Health (Collaborator). 2016 to 2021
