Leonard E. White, Associate Professor in Neurology and Neurosciences and Associate Director of Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and Director of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Psychology and Neuroscience and Associate Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery of Orthopaedics and Faculty Network Member

Functional architecture of the visual cortex; role of sensory experience in development

One important goal of neuroscience is to understand the fundamental principles that shape the developing brain. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to characterize the interactions between sensorimotor behavior, self-organization, and genetically programmed mechanisms of brain development. This interplay between intrinsic and experience-dependent factors is most dynamic during early life, at a time of explosive increase in the numbers and complexity of neural connections. It is precisely this increase in neural capacity that makes possible the rich repertoire of behavior associated with functional maturity. My primary interest is to understand how sensorimotor experience in early life influences — for better or worse — the formation and maturation of functional neural circuits in the cerebral cortex. My collaborators and I believe that our studies are providing insight into the nature of normal brain development and the consequences of disrupting the partnership between intrinsic developmental mechanisms and early sensorimotor experience.

Contact Info:

Office Location:	M056 Levine Science Research Center, 308 Research Drive, Durham, NC 27708
Office Phone:	(919) 613-5028
Email Address:

Teaching (Fall 2019):

• INTERDIS 108B.16, HUMAN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION Synopsis

  TBA, 12:00 AM-11:59 PM

• NEUROSCI 380L.01, FUNCTIONAL NEUROANATOMY Synopsis

  LSRC B029, F 08:30 AM-11:00 AM

  (also cross-listed as PSY 375L.01)

• BME 790.04, ADV TOP FOR GRADS IN BME Synopsis

  TBA, MTuWThF 08:45 AM-04:30 PM

Education:

Ph.D.

Washington University in St. Louis

1992

Keywords:

Anatomy • Biological Evolution • Brain Mapping • Cerebral Cortex • Curriculum • Diffusion Tensor Imaging • Dogs • Dominance, Cerebral • Dominance, Ocular • Education • Encephalitis, Viral • Ferrets • Functional Laterality • Herpesvirus 6, Human • Infant • Infant, Newborn • Motion • Motion Perception • Neural Pathways • Orientation • Retina • Sensory Deprivation • Staining and Labeling • Visual Cortex • Visual Pathways • Visual Perception