Dr. Anan Moran
Research work
The general aim of the lab is to study how sensory information is processed in the brain to guide behavior, and how this processing changes with new experiences. Specifically, my lab studies the taste system, and how taste information is processed by a complex network of interconnected nuclei (including the amygdala, taste cortex and pre-frontal cortex) to support basic behaviors (i.e. “To spit or to swallow?”), and how this processing is changed with experience (“I would never eat clams again after the stomachache I had last night!”). My research tackles the basic, but still unanswered, questions of how sensory (taste) information is passed, processed and stored in the context of adaptive behavior.
Areas of interest & scientific knowledge
Behavioral Neuroscience
Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience
System & Physiological Neuroscience
Specialization
Selected Publications
- Moran A, Katz DB. Sensory Cortical Population Dynamics Uniquely Track Behavior across Learning and Extinction. J Neurosci. 2014 Jan 22;34(4):1248-57.
- Piette C, Baez-Santiago M, Reid Emily, Katz DB, Moran A. Inactivation of basolateral amygdala specifically eliminates palatability-related information in cortical sensory response. J Neurosci. 2012 Jul 18;32(29):9981-91
- Har-Paz I, Roisman N, Michaelson DM, Moran A. Extra-Hippocampal Learning Deficits in Young Apolipoprotein E4 Mice and Their Synaptic Underpinning. J Alzheimers Dis. 2019; 72(1):71–82.
- Arieli a, Gerbi r, Shein-Idelson m, Moran A. Temporally-precise basolateral amygdala activation is required for the formation of taste memories in gustatory cortex bioRxiv 2020.03.29.013995
- Flores VL, Moran A, Bernstein M , Katz DB. Preexposure to salty and sour taste enhances conditioned taste aversion to novel sucrose. Learning & Memory 2016 23 (5), 221-228
- Arieli, E., Gerbi, R., Shein‐Idelson, M. and Moran, A., 2020. Temporally‐precise basolateral amygdala activation is required for the formation of taste memories in gustatory cortex. The Journal of Physiology, 598(23), pp.5505-5522.
