Research Bio
Michael Silver is a Professor of Optometry and Vision Science and Neuroscience and the Director of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. The research goals of Michael Silver's laboratory are to better understand how the human brain constructs representations of the environment and how these representations are modified by cognitive processes such as attention, expectation, and learning. His team addresses these questions by applying a combination of behavioral, brain imaging, modeling, and pharmacological techniques to the study of healthy human participants as well as patients who suffer from diseases that affect visual perceptual processing.
Research Expertise and Interest
cognitive neuroscience, pharmacology, psychedelics, learning, attention, visual perception, neuroimaging
In the News
Psychedelics Change How We See the World. A UC Berkeley study aims to find out why.
Three Years In, ‘Uniquely Berkeley’ Psychedelic Research Center Looks to the Future
UC Berkeley launches new center for psychedelic science and education
‘Nuff said: Humans get the gist of complex sounds
New research by neuroscientists at UC Berkeley, suggests that the human brain is not detail-oriented, but opts for the big picture when it comes to hearing.
Alzheimer's drug boosts perceptual learning in healthy adults
Research on a drug commonly prescribed to Alzheimer's disease patients is helping neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, better understand perceptual learning in healthy adults.
Featured in the Media
With a millennia-long record of ritual and ceremonial use, psilocybin's potential to treat certain mental disorders has seen new research interest. This research was first reported on Berkeley News and was also covered by High Times and KNTV-TV.
Teaching
Senior Research Thesis [NEU 191]
Supervised Independent Study [NEU 199]
Neuroscience Graduate Research [NEU 292]
Neuroscience Research Review [NEU 295]
Supervised Independent Study [NEU 99]
Honors Research Thesis [NEU H196A]
Honors Research Thesis [NEU H196B]
Special Study for Honors Candidates [PSYCH H195A]
Supervised Research: Biological Sciences [UGIS 192C]
Cognitive and Computational Lab [NEU 172L]
Senior Research Thesis [NEU 191]
Supervised Independent Study [NEU 199]
Neuroscience Graduate Research [NEU 292]
Neuroscience Research Review [NEU 295]
Supervised Independent Study [NEU 99]
Honors Research Thesis [NEU H196A]
Honors Research Thesis [NEU H196B]
Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of the Eye and Visual System [OPTOM 206D]
Special Study for Honors Candidates [PSYCH H195B]
Introduction to Visual Neuroscience [VISSCI 260C]
Research in Vision Science [VISSCI 299]
Supervised Independent Study [NEU 199]
Neuroscience Graduate Research [NEU 292]
Neuroscience Research Review [NEU 295]
Supervised Independent Study [NEU 99]
Honors Research Thesis [NEU H196A]
Honors Research Thesis [NEU H196B]
Special Study for Honors Candidates [PSYCH H195A]
Introduction to Visual Neuroscience [VISSCI 260C]