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Joel Zylberberg Laboratory

Computational Neuroscience and Machine Learning

Advancing our understanding of brain function and vision with machine learning and computational models

Dr. Joel Zylberberg

Joel Zylberberg, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Ophthalmology

Jules Stein Eye Institute

joelzy@ucla.edu
Faculty Profile
Laboratory Website

Dr. Joel Zylberberg is a computational neuroscientist whose work bridges neuroscience and machine learning. His research focuses on understanding how the brain processes information about the world and how those representations are learned. By combining computational modeling with experimental data, Dr. Zylberberg aims to develop bio-inspired machine learning algorithms and improve our understanding of sensory systems like the retina and visual cortex.

Key research questions include:

  • How does the brain encode and process sensory information?
  • What are the neural mechanisms underlying robust information propagation in noisy circuits?
  • How can bio-inspired algorithms improve artificial intelligence systems?
  • What are the roles of synaptic plasticity in shaping neural representations?
  • How can computational models of vision aid in developing retinal prosthetics?

Dr. Zylberberg's lab employs cutting-edge techniques in computational neuroscience, including deep learning frameworks and information theory, to uncover the principles of brain function and apply them to real-world problems in AI and medicine.

Membrane receptor research diagrams showing protein structures, molecular pathways, and experimental results

Selected Publications

Biophysical neural adaptation mechanisms enable artificial neural networks to capture dynamic retinal computation

Idrees S, Manookin M, Rieke F, Field GD, Zylberberg J

Nature Communications (2024) • citations

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Stimulus type shapes the topology of cellular functional networks in mouse visual cortex

Tang D, Zylberberg J*, Jia X*, Choi H* (*co-senior authors)

Nature Communications (2024) • citations

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Responses to pattern-violating visual stimuli evolve differently over days in somata and distal apical dendrites

Gillon C*, Pina J*, et al., Bengio Y, Lillicrap T, Richards B^, Zylberberg J^ (*co-first, ^co-senior authors)

Journal of Neuroscience (2024) • citations

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Improved object recognition using neural networks trained to mimic the brain's statistical properties

Federer C, Xu H, Fyshe A, Zylberberg J

Neural Networks (2020) • citations

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A deep learning framework for neuroscience

Richards BA, Lillicrap T, et al., Zylberberg J, Therien D, Kording K

Nature Neuroscience (2019) • citations

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