Howard C. Nusbaum

My research has focused since 1986 on perceptual learning and attention and working memory. Our research uses a wide range of methods including behavioral paradigms for studying learning and sleep consolidation, attention limitations in learning and perception, and the role of working memory in perception. Our lab is equipped for high-density EEG measurements, fMRI data analysis (with access to a 3T scanner), auditory brainstem recordings, and a wide range of speech recording, editing, analysis, synthesis, and sound modification tools. We test individuals, and can carry out nap studies in-lab with polysomnography. We can collect and analyze peripheral physiological measurements (heart rate variability, respiration, etc.) and in collaboration with colleagues carry out genetic analyses. My graduate students and postdoctoral trainees have gone on to become tenured faculty members at a wide range of international research institutions including Michigan State, Purdue, University College London, University of Trento (Center for Mind/Brain Research), and Birkbeck College in London. My graduate students and trainees publish their research in the top scientific journals including Nature, Current Biology, Neuron, J. Neuroscience, PNAS, Learning & Memory, Cognition, and Psychological Science. My students are trained in the lab in basic behavioral research methods, on-line research methods, signal processing, advanced statistical analysis and modelling, human electrophysiology, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, comparative methods in communication (comparing humans and songbirds), sensory research methods, fMRI, and computational modeling. Students in my laboratory reported the first scientific evidence for sleep consolidation of generalized learning (Fenn et al., 2003, Nature), the first behavioral evidence for functional effects of sleep consolidation in songbirds (Brawn et al., 2010, J. Neuroscience), the first evidence that adults can learn perfect pitch and this learning depends on working memory capacity (Van Hedger et al., 2015, Cognition), and the first evidence of the fate of interfering material following sleep consolidation (Brawn et al.. 2013, Psychological Science). Students and trainees working with me develop new methods for research, develop broad and deep cognitive neuroscience skills and knowledge, and publish successfully their research going on to successful tenure track and tenured faculty research positions.

Indiana University
Bloomington, IN
Postdoctoral - Speech, Hearing, and Sensory Communication
1984

State University of New York at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY
PhD - Cognitive Psychology
1981

Brandeis University
Waltham, MA
BA - Computer Science, Psychology
1976

Author Correction: Single-trial visually evoked potentials predict both individual choice and market outcomes.
Author Correction: Single-trial visually evoked potentials predict both individual choice and market outcomes. Sci Rep. 2024 Feb 06; 14(1):3047.
PMID: 38321048

Temporal Dynamics of Brain Activity Predicting Sense of Agency over Muscle Movements.
Temporal Dynamics of Brain Activity Predicting Sense of Agency over Muscle Movements. J Neurosci. 2023 11 15; 43(46):7842-7852.
PMID: 37722848

Single-trial visually evoked potentials predict both individual choice and market outcomes.
Single-trial visually evoked potentials predict both individual choice and market outcomes. Sci Rep. 2023 09 01; 13(1):14340.
PMID: 37658206

Permutation-based group sequential analyses for cognitive neuroscience.
Permutation-based group sequential analyses for cognitive neuroscience. Neuroimage. 2023 08 15; 277:120232.
PMID: 37348624

Absolute pitch judgments of familiar melodies generalize across timbre and octave.
Absolute pitch judgments of familiar melodies generalize across timbre and octave. Mem Cognit. 2023 11; 51(8):1898-1910.
PMID: 37165298

Generalizing across tonal context, timbre, and octave in rapid absolute pitch training.
Generalizing across tonal context, timbre, and octave in rapid absolute pitch training. Atten Percept Psychophys. 2023 Feb; 85(2):525-542.
PMID: 36690914

Going beyond ourselves: the role of self-transcendent experiences in wisdom.
Going beyond ourselves: the role of self-transcendent experiences in wisdom. Cogn Emot. 2023 02; 37(1):98-116.
PMID: 36417261

Going Beyond Rote Auditory Learning: Neural Patterns of Generalized Auditory Learning.
Going Beyond Rote Auditory Learning: Neural Patterns of Generalized Auditory Learning. J Cogn Neurosci. 2022 02 01; 34(3):425-444.
PMID: 34942645

Expertise Modulates Neural Stimulus-Tracking.
Expertise Modulates Neural Stimulus-Tracking. eNeuro. 2021 Jul-Aug; 8(4).
PMID: 34341067

Individual differences in human frequency-following response predict pitch labeling ability.
Individual differences in human frequency-following response predict pitch labeling ability. Sci Rep. 2021 07 12; 11(1):14290.
PMID: 34253760

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Stella M. Rowley Professor of Psychology
The University of Chicago
2018

Fellow
The Psychonomic Society
2014

Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
The University of Chicago
2012

Fellow
Association for Psychological Science
2009

Future Faculty Mentorship Award
The University of Chicago
2007