- PhD, Harvard University, 2010
Education & Training
Neural circuits for sensory-guided behavior
The Hong Lab is interested in understanding the organization and function of neural circuits that underlie sensory-guided behaviors. Sensory information received from the environment is encoded by a series of neural circuits that must precisely coordinate their activity to generate an accurate perception of the world.
Using the mouse whisker system as a model for touch perception, we combine anatomy, electrophysiology, optogenetics, and animal behavior to investigate how tactile information is processed in the brain. In particular, we aim to establish how multiple areas of the brain dynamically orchestrate neural activity during active sensation. Furthermore, we seek to define the mechanisms by which subcortical areas are affected by, and recover from, cortical injury.
Nam AY, Shin J, Tenney M, Zhang B, Hong, YK (2026). Somatosensory cortex shapes perceptual decision bias via the superior colliculus. Accepted pending final editorial checks, Nature Communications; preprint: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7742853/v1
Merkley A, Grover P, Nam, AY, Hong, YK (2024). Message- Relevant Dimension Reduction of Neural Populations. in 2024 IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT) 262–267. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10619646
Petty GH, Kinnischtzke AK, Hong YK, Bruno RM (2021). Effects of arousal and movement on secondary somatosensory and visual thalamus. eLife 10:e67611
Rodgers CC, Nogueira R, Pil BC, Greeman EA, Park JM, Hong YK, Fusi S, Bruno RM (2021). Sensorimotor strategies and neuronal representation for shape discrimination. Neuron 109: 2308-2325.e10
Warren RA, Zhang Q, Hoffman JR, Li EY, Hong YK, Bruno RM, Sawtell NB (2021). A rapid sensory motor decision underlying skilled locomotion in mice. eLife 10:e63596
Park JM, Hong YK*, Rodgers CC*, Dahan JB, Schmidt ER, Bruno RM (2020). Deep and Superficial layers of the primary somatosensory cortex are critical for whisker-based texture discrimination in mice. bioRxiv doi: 10.1101/2020.08.12.245381. *Equal contribution.
Hong YK, Burr EF, Sanes JR and Chen C (2019). Heterogeneity of retinogeniculate axons. European Journal of Neuroscience 49: 948-956
Hong YK, Lacefield CO, Rodgers CC, Bruno RM (2018) Sensation, movement, and learning in the absence of primary sensory cortex. Nature 561: 542-546
