Michael Kahana

Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Psychology
BA, Case Western Reserve University;
Ph.D., Psychology, University of Toronto
Office Location: 
Levin Building, Room 263, 425 S. University Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19104
Email: 
kahana@psych.upenn.edu
Phone: 
215-746-3501
Website: 
http://memory.psych.upenn.edu/Main_Page
Research Interests: 
Behavioral Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Memory and Learning
 
Specific Research Areas: 

Human memory and its neural mechanisms

 
Research Synopsis: 

I am interested in human memory and its neural basis. Together with my trainees, I investigate memory using a combination of behavioral, computational, and neurophysiological methods. In our computational investigations, we build mathematical and computer-simulation models to account for the dynamics of memory retrieval in a variety of episodic and spatial memory tasks. Because behavioral data provides a sparse reflection of the brain's activity supporting memory, we simultaneously record neurophysiological signals as patients with arrays of implanted electrodes perform memory tasks. In these investigations we study neural activity at multiple spatial scales, ranging from individual neurons to spatially-distributed networks of field-potential activity supporting memory. Several of our current projects also use electrical stimulation to manipulate memory circuits, both for understanding basic memory mechanisms and also for developing therapies to restore memory in patients with brain injury or neurological disease.

Professor Michael Kahana will not be considering new graduate students for admission for Fall 2025.

Selected Publications: 

Professor Kahana's publications may be accessed through his lab website, http://memory.psych.upenn.edu/Publications

Courses Taught: 
Human Memory
Big Data, Memory, and Human Brain
 
Advisees:
Adam Broitman [postdoc]
Nathaniel Greene [postdoc]
David Halpern [postdoc]
Riley DeHaan [Psychology Graduate Student]