David Freedman, PhD

Computational Cognitive and Visual Neuroscience



Through experience, we learn to interpret the sights and sounds around us and to make decisions that move us closer to achieving our goals. Our ability to learn from and adapt to our ever changing environment is a foundation of complex behavior, as it allows us to make sense of incoming sensory stimuli and to plan successful actions. To study these questions, our laboratory uses advanced neurophysiological and behavioral techniques, in parallel with machine learning approaches for studying cognitive computations in artificial neural networks. Together, our work is providing insights into the brain mechanisms of visual learning, recognition and decision making.

Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA
Postdoctoral - Neurobiology
2008

M.I.T.
Cambridge, MA
Ph.D. - Systems Neuroscience
2002

Race-neutral Pediatric Reference Ranges for Bone Mineral Density Predict Prospective Fractures in Childhood.
Race-neutral Pediatric Reference Ranges for Bone Mineral Density Predict Prospective Fractures in Childhood. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2025 Oct 16; 110(11):3034-3048.
PMID: 40129031

Firing rate diversity lowers the dimension of population covariability in neuronal networks.
Firing rate diversity lowers the dimension of population covariability in neuronal networks. bioRxiv. 2025 Jun 01.
PMID: 39257801

Multiplexing of cognitive encoding by oculomotor networks leads to incidental gaze shifts.
Multiplexing of cognitive encoding by oculomotor networks leads to incidental gaze shifts. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Apr 15; 122(15):e2422331122.
PMID: 40198709

Primate superior colliculus is causally engaged in abstract higher-order cognition.
Primate superior colliculus is causally engaged in abstract higher-order cognition. Nat Neurosci. 2024 Oct; 27(10):1999-2008.
PMID: 39300307

Neuronal firing rate diversity lowers the dimension of population covariability.
Neuronal firing rate diversity lowers the dimension of population covariability. bioRxiv. 2024 Aug 31.
PMID: 39257801

Alterations of neural activity in the prefrontal cortex associated with deficits in working memory performance.
Alterations of neural activity in the prefrontal cortex associated with deficits in working memory performance. Front Behav Neurosci. 2023; 17:1213435.
PMID: 37915531

Redundant representations are required to disambiguate simultaneously presented complex stimuli.
Redundant representations are required to disambiguate simultaneously presented complex stimuli. PLoS Comput Biol. 2023 08; 19(8):e1011327.
PMID: 37556470

Posterior Parietal Cortex Plays a Causal Role in Abstract Memory-Based Visual Categorical Decisions.
Posterior Parietal Cortex Plays a Causal Role in Abstract Memory-Based Visual Categorical Decisions. J Neurosci. 2023 06 07; 43(23):4315-4328.
PMID: 37137703

Schema formation in a neural population subspace underlies learning-to-learn in flexible sensorimotor problem-solving.
Schema formation in a neural population subspace underlies learning-to-learn in flexible sensorimotor problem-solving. Nat Neurosci. 2023 05; 26(5):879-890.
PMID: 37024575

Low-dimensional encoding of decisions in parietal cortex reflects long-term training history.
Low-dimensional encoding of decisions in parietal cortex reflects long-term training history. Nat Commun. 2023 02 23; 14(1):1010.
PMID: 36823109

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