Dr. Fitzpatrick’s research focuses on the functional and anatomical organization of neural circuits in the primary visual cortex. His laboratory performs in vivo experiments using a combination of optical imaging, intracellular recording, and neural anatomical tracing techniques to understand how cortical neural circuits represent visual stimuli. His work has contributed to our fundamental understanding of neural connectivity with respect to classical receptive fields, and how stimulus features such as orientation, direction of motion and speed are represented within the visual cortex. Recent work, focusing on the role of visual stimuli during postnatal development has revealed that cortical direction selectivity is driven by early experience with moving visual stimuli. These findings help to underscore other studies from the Fitzpatrick’s lab demonstrating the importance of early sensory experience in cortical circuit formation. Dr. Fitzpatrick is a Full Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center, and has recently been named Director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences.

Selected Publications:
Li Y, Van Hooser SD, Mazurek M, White LE, Fitzpatrick D.
Experience with moving visual stimuli drives the early development of cortical direction selectivity.
Nature. 2008 Dec 18;456(7224):952-6.

White LE, Fitzpatrick D.
Vision and cortical map development.
Neuron. 2007 Oct 25;56(2):327-38.

Tucker TR, Fitzpatrick D.
Luminance-evoked inhibition in primary visual cortex: a transient veto of simultaneous and ongoing response.
J Neurosci. 2006 Dec 27;26(52):13537-47.

Li Y, Fitzpatrick D, White LE.
The development of direction selectivity in ferret visual cortex requires early visual experience.
Nat Neurosci. 2006 May;9(5):676-81. Epub 2006 Apr 9.

Mooser F, Bosking WH, Fitzpatrick D.
A morphological basis for orientation tuning in primary visual cortex.
Nat Neurosci. 2004 Aug;7(8):872-9.

For more information see our website - NIH Neuroscience Seminar Series