Michael Ortiz

Michael Ortiz 
Graduate Student, Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience 
B.A. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, San Juan PR (2004) 

Email: mo262@georgetown.edu

Michael’s interest in the neurosciences began by working in the National Institute of Mental Health under Mortimer Mishkin. There he participated in various neuroimaging studies aiming at identifying auditory cortical fields in the monkey brain. He then moved to the section on neural coding and computation under Barry Richmond where we worked on mapping prefrontal networks using manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI). Now Michael works in Dr. Rauschecker lab where he focuses on the development of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in awake monkeys. He is interested in how hierarchical networks support auditory object recognition and how spectrotemporal features of sound “objects” build invariant representations in the brain. By using fMRI and neurophysiology in the non-human primate Michael attempts to characterize the neural substrates that are involved in processing complex sounds. The combination of these methodologies will be critical for developing research that accentuates the connection between fundamental neuroscience research and biomedical applications.

Publications

Simmons JM, Saad ZS, Lizak MJ, Ortiz M, Koretsky AP, Richmond BJ (2008) Mapping prefrontal circuits in vivo with Manganese-Enhance Magnetic Resonance Imaging. J Neurosci 28: 7637-7647

Abstracts

Ortiz M, Kuśmierek P, Rauschecker JP. (2008) Response of the neural population to syntethic and natural sounds in the rhesus monkey auditory cortex. Soc. for Neuroscience Abstract 850.8, Washington DC 

Wu WC, Simmons J, Chuang K, Ortiz M, Koretsky AP. (2006) In vivo Anatomical Tract-tracing: Manganse-Enhanced MRI Uptake, Transport, and Detection. Soc. for Neuroscience Abstract, Atlanta, GA 

Simmons JM, Lizak MJ, Ortiz M, Koretsky AP, Richmond BJ. (2005) Mapping a Cortica-Subcortical Loop In vivo Using Manganese-Enhanced MRI in Monkey. Soc. for Neuroscience Abstract, Washington, DC 

Ortiz M, Poremba A, Malloy MM, Saunders RC, Herscovitch P, Mishkin M. (2004) FDG-PET Brain Imaging in Rhesus Monkeys: Working Memory in the Superior Temporal Gyrus. Summer Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, MD