Biography: Jyoti was born in New Delhi, India, where she resided until age 21. After completing an undergraduate in Biochemistry, she moved to Bangalore for her first foray into neuroscience at the National Center for Biological Sciences (NCBS). While studying intracellular calcium dynamics within neurons in computational network models and in-vitro culture, she discovered that she was most fascinated by the neural basis of human cognition. At age 24, Jyoti commenced graduate studies in Computational Neurobiology at UC San Diego. Under the co-mentorship of Dr. Steven Hillyard and Dr. Terry Sejnowski, she investigated how audition and vision interact in the human brain. Her Ph.D. thesis focused on the sensory-neural basis of visual illusions induced by sounds, investigated using electro-encephalographic (EEG) recordings, behavior and quantitative analytical methods. She found that audition can influence vision very early in neural processing (at <50 msec), supporting evidence for direct connectivity between the unisensory auditory and visual cortices. She also found these auditory-induced visual perturbations to be modulated by attention, and to have interesting inter-individual differences. The heterogeneity in audiovisual interactions across individuals triggered Jyoti’s interests in the plasticity of neural circuits. Continuing as a post-doc in the Hillyard lab, Jyoti investigated how video gaming expertise in young adults can alter attention-mediated modulations of visual cortical activity. In mid-2009, Jyoti moved to San Francisco as a joint post-doc in the Gazzaley lab & the Brain Plasticity Institute (BPI), to study how attention training influences the brain and behavior.
Research Description: Jyoti’s research focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms of top-down control (attention and working memory) in dynamic multisensory environments composed of auditory, visual and audiovisual stimuli. The research uses neuroimaging tools to characterize the underlying mechanisms in healthy young adults, as well as alterations in aging (and in future, adolescence and populations with attention deficits (e.g. ADHD)). Informed by the neuroscientific findings, Jyoti additionally develops novel cognitive training tools at her concurrent appointment at BPI. She further evaluates the efficacy of these training tools to remediate both behavioral and neural deficits in top-down multisensory cognitive control.
Publications:
Mishra J, Bavelier D, and Gazzaley A. Probing the Plasticity of Attention and Working Memory. Cambridge Hanbook on Applied Perception Research (in review). 2011.
Mishra J, Martinez A, Schroeder C, and Hillyard SA. Spatial attention boosts short-latency neural responses in human visual cortex. Neuroimage (in review). 2011.
Mishra J, Zinni M, Bavelier D, and Hillyard SA. Neural basis of superior performance of video-game players in an attention-demanding task. Journal of Neuroscience 31: 992-998. 2011.
Mishra J, Martinez A, Hillyard SA. Effect of Attention on Early Cortical Processes associated with the Sound-induced Extra Flash Illusion. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 22: 1714-1729. 2010.
Mishra J, Martinez A, Hillyard SA. Cortical Processes Underlying Sound-Induced Flash Fusion. Brain Research 1242: 102-15. 2008.
Mishra J, Hillyard SA. Endogenous attention selection during binocular rivalry at early stages of visual processing. Vision Research 49: 1073-80. 2008.
Bonath B,Noesselt T, Martinez A, Mishra J, Schwiecker K, Heinze H, Hillyard SA. Neural basis of the Ventriloquist illusion. Current Biology 17: 1-7. 2007.
Mishra J, Martinez A, Sejnowski TJ, Hillyard SA. Early cross-modal interactions in auditory and visual cortex underlie a sound-induced visual illusion. Journal of Neuroscience 27: 4120-4131. 2007.
Mishra J, Fellous JM, and Sejnowski TJ. Selective attention through phase relationship of excitatory and inhibitory input synchrony in a model cortical neuron. Neural Networks 19: 1329-46. 2006.
Mishra J, and Bhalla US. Simulations of Inositol Phosphate Metabolism and its Interaction with InsP3 mediated Calcium Release. Biophysical Journal 83: 1298-1316. 2002.
Sivakumaran S, Hariharaputran S, Mishra J, and Bhalla US. The Database of Quantitative Cellular Signaling: management and analysis of chemical kinetic models of signaling networks. Bioinformatics 19: 408-415. 2003.
Kothekar V, Sahi S, Srinivasan M, Mohan A, and Mishra J. Recognition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) active site by NSAIDs: a computer modeling study. Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics 38: 56-63. 2001.
Kothekar V, Sahi S, and Mishra J. Molecular dynamics simulation of the interaction of 5-keto substituted 7-tert-butyl-2,3-dihydro-3,3-dimethylbenzofuran derivatives with cyclooxygenase-2. Current Science 80: 764-770. 2001.
Kothekar V, Sahi S, and Mishra J. Enzyme selectivity of new cyclooxygenase-2/5 lipoxygenase inhibitors using molecular modeling approach. Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics 37: 86-96. 2000.
