Josef Rauschecker
Josef Rauschecker, Ph.D., D.Sc.
Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Georgetown Institute for Cognitive and Computational Sciences
Director, Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Director, Center of Neuroengineering, Georgetown University
Ph.D., Munich Institute of Technology (1980)
D.Sc., Neurophysiology, Tubingen University (1985)
Postdoc: Department of Neurophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry
Email: rauschej@georgetown.edu
Dr. Rauschecker’s research interests are centered on the functional organization and plasticity of the cerebral cortex. Research in his lab focuses on the neural basis of auditory perception and auditory-motor integration in speech and music. These studies are using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in humans. Parallel studies are conducted in nonhuman primates. This work is intended to lead to a deeper understanding of brain function and dysfunction in auditory processing and speech disorders, aphasia, agnosia and apraxia of speech. Research on hearing loss and tinnitus is aimed at understanding the brain mechanisms of this wide-spread disorder, and at the development of more intelligently designed hearing aids and neural prostheses. Dr. Rauschecker’s laboratory is also interested in the effects of sensory deprivation during brain development, relating to the question of how the brain of individuals with early blindness or deafness is adaptively reorganized through sensory substitution. These studies of brain plasticity also have relevance for the understanding of degenerative diseases of the brain, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Faculty Appointments
1995-present, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC. Professor, Georgetown Institute for Cognitive and Computational Sciences; Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, Neurology, and Psychology, Georgetown University
1981-1989, Adjunct Faculty appointments, University of Tübingen, Germany: Departments of Physiology (Faculty of Medicine), Biology (Faculty of Sciences), and Physiological Psychology (Faculty of Arts)
Other Professional Appointments
2012-date, Animal Research Oversight Committee, GUMC
2010-2012, Middle States Steering Committee, Georgetown University
2010-2011, Mind/Brain Working Group, Georgetown University Medical Center
2009, Centers and Institutes Committee, Georgetown University Medical Center
2006-2009, Member, Executive Council, Georgetown College
2006-2009, Director, Interdisciplinary Program in Cognitive Science, Georgetown University
1995-2012, Guest Researcher, Section on Cognitive Neuroscience, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, NIMH
1989-1995, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bethesda and Poolesville, Maryland; Senior Investigator, Laboratories of Neuropsychology and Neurophysiology
1981-1989, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany: Research Scientist with permanent career status
Public Service
2020-present Member, Editorial Board “Aging Brain”
2011-present Member, Editorial Board “Neurotherapeutics”
2010-present Associate Editor, Frontiers in Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience
1998-present Associate, Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS)
1998-2011,Member, Editorial Board “Audiology and Neurootology”, Karger-Verlag
1997-present Member, Editorial Board “Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience”, Elsevier Science Publishers; since 2011 Reviewing Editor
1984-1995, Editor, Wiley Series in Neuroscience, John Wiley & Sons, New York
1984-1988, Committee Member, European Brain and Behaviour Society (EBBS)
Ad-Hoc Reviewer for Journals
Nature, Science, Proc. National Academy of Sciences USA, Bioessays, Biological, Cybernetics, Brain and Behavioral Sciences, Brain Research, Brain Research Reviews, Behavioural Brain Research, Cerebral Cortex, Cognitive Brain Research, Current Biology, Developmental Brain Research, European Journal of Neuroscience, European Journal of Physiology (Pflüger’s Archiv), Experimental Brain Research, Hearing Research, Human Brain Mapping, Journal of Comparative Neurology, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Journal of Neurophysiology, Journal of Neuroscience, Nature Medicine, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Reviews, Neural Computation, Neuroimage, Neuron, Neuropsychologia, Neuroscience Letters, Physiological Reviews, Public Library of Science (Biology, Medicine, ONE), Psychophysiology, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Trends in Neuroscience, Vision Research, Visual Neuroscience.
Professional Societies
2000-present New York Academy of Sciences
1990-present Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO)
1988-present Society for Neuroscience
1986-present International Brain Research Organization (IBRO)
1981-present International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS)
Grant Support
National Science Foundation
National Eye Institute
National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Tinnitus Research Consortium