Kazuhiro Goto

My research interests are in the general area of cognitive science. One focus of my current research is to examine the mechanisms of visual cognition. Birds and primates are visually dominant despite their phylogenetic distance. I investigate similarities and differences regarding aspects of visual cognition to uncover phylogenetic and adaptive characteristics of the two. Another focus is on left-right asymmetry (aka laterality). Left-right asymmetry is a fundamental feature of brain function, and a group of molecular biologists identified structural and functional asymmetries in the circuitry of the mouse hippocampus based on the asymmetrical distribution of NMDA receptor NR2B subunits. I collaborate with them to study effects of this asymmetry defect on learning and memory.