Assaf Ramot, Ph.D.

Assaf Ramot earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology. He then completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Alon Chen in the Department of Neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, where he studied the underlying mechanisms of long-term exposure to stress. Since 2017, Assaf has served as a postdoctoral scholar at the lab of Professor Takaki Komiyama, at the University of California, San Diego. Motor learning refers to the ability to alter movements in an ever-changing environment and is fundamental for the well-being of many animal species, including humans. Assaf has been using advanced imaging methods developed in recent years to unravel the fundamental principles of the mammalian brain operating during motor learning, planning and movement execution. Assaf’s specific focus is on exploring the interaction between long-range inputs and the microcircuit connectivity within the motor cortex in a way previously impossible to test in-vivo.

Principal Investigator: Takaki Komiyama

Fellow: Xinyi “Cindy” Wang

Undergraduate Fellow Project:
The project’s primary research interest is unraveling the neural circuit basis of motor learning and movement generation. This understanding is essential for a fundamental understanding of brain mechanisms and diagnosing and treating clinical conditions like Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and stroke. The motor cortex is a central locus for motor learning. Advanced imaging methods developed in recent years, such as two-photon calcium imaging, made it possible to record the activity of many neurons and, therefore, explore how long-lasting motor memories are stored in the brain. However, despite the high-quality research done so far, none of the past work has addressed the critical aspect of integrating connectivity and activity of diverse cortical neuronal populations associated with motor learning. This project aims to fill this gap in knowledge using cutting-edge methods to integrate patterns of connectivity and activity of the rodent primary motor cortex.