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Mike ColomboProfessor Mike Colombo's current research interests are in neural mechanisms of learning and memory, as well as comparative animal cognition.

Mike received his undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology and Psychology from the University of Colorado and his PhD from Rutgers University with a research emphasis on comparative animal cognition and neuroscience. Following his PhD, he was awarded an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship to study the neural mechanisms of visual processing in monkeys at Princeton University. He joined the University of Otago in 1992.

One series of studies conducted in his lab examines how neurons in the brain code information. Information in the brain is transmitted from one neuron to the next by bursts of electricity. Using standard electrophysiological techniques, he can “listen in” to these bursts of electricity. These bursts of electricity represent a language, and his research is designed to decipher that language. Using this technique, he has explored the neural basis of memory, reward, visual processing, and gambling.

A second series of studies examines what the hippocampus contributes to learning and memory. The prevailing view is that the hippocampus is important for high forms of memory and cognition. In contrast, his studies suggest a far simpler role for the hippocampus, one involved in either detecting contingencies or navigating to points in space.

Finally, a third series of studies examines the cognitive abilities of birds. The prevailing view is that primates stand apart from other animals such as birds in their mental abilities. Research in his lab has shown that if the task is designed properly, birds can show abilities on par with most primates.

Professor Colombo has authored over 50 journal articles and one book, and has received numerous awards for his teaching.

Find out more about Professor Colombo's research.

Publications

Kakrada, E., & Colombo, M. (2023). Beyond the mark: Signatures of self-recognition in fish. Learning & Behavior. Advance online publication. doi: 10.3758/s13420-023-00586-0

Clark, W., Chilcott, M., & Colombo, M. (2022). The effect of progressive image scrambling on neuronal responses at three stations of the pigeon tectofugal pathway. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 14190. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-18006-0

Kakrada, E., & Colombo, M. (2022). Extending the null hypothesis to invertebrate pain sentience. Animal Sentience, 32(25), 444. doi: 10.51291/2377-7478.1754

Clark, W., & Colombo, M. (2022). Seeing the forest for the trees, and the ground below my beak: Global and local processing in the pigeon's visual system [Mini review]. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 888528. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.888528

Kakrada, E., & Colombo, M. (2022). Mirror mirror on the wall, it's not the mark I care about at all. Learning & Motivation, 77, 101785. doi: 10.1016/j.lmot.2022.101785

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