Blake Porter, PhD

Brandeis University

Email: blakeporterneuro {at} gmail {dot} com

Education:

Ph.D. in Psychology 
Feb 2014 – Aug 2017
University of Otago – New Zealand

B.A. in Neuroscience with Honors
Minor: Human Physiology
Sept 2009 – May 2013
Boston University – U.S.A.

Research Experience:

Shantanu Jadhav Lab for Learning, Memory and Decision Making in the Mammalian Brain
Post-doctoral fellow
Jan 2021 – Present
Brandeis University – U.S.A.

Use of in vivo electrophysiology and optogenetics techniques to investigate the neural circuits of inferential decision making and schema formation.

Kristin Hillman Lab for the Neural Basis of Effortful Behaviour 
Post-doctoral fellow
Oct 2017 – Dec 2020
University of Otago – New Zealand

Use of in vivo electrophysiology techniques to investigate the neural mechanisms of quitting behaviors on a novel weight lifting task.

Mike Colombo Lab for the Neural Basis of Learning and Memory 
Assistant research fellow
July 2016 – Present 
University of Otago – New Zealand

Data analysis using Matlab to analyze pigeon behavior and neural activity in a wide range of behavioral paradigms including serial order, face perception, and cost-benefit value representations. Conducting and teaching students histology. 

David Bilkey Lab for Brain and Behavior
PhD candidate
Feb 2014 – Aug 2017
University of Otago – New Zealand

Use of in vivo electrophysiology techniques to investigate how effortful behaviors are represented in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

Howard Eichenbaum Lab for Cognitive Neurobiology
Undergraduate research assistant/Research assistant
Feb 2012 – Dec 2013
Boston University – U.S.A.

As an undergraduate I assisted with the use of in vivo electrophysiology techniques to investigate the structure of memory consolidation and organization in the hippocampus with learning, hippocampal and medial prefrontal circuit dynamics in a context-guided object association task. Following my undergraduate work, as a research assistant I helped to investigate the neural mechanisms by which conjunctive encoding within the dentate gyrus and between the dentate gyrus and other hippocampal subregions occured.

Publications:

  • Blake Porter and Kristin Hillman. (2021) Dorsomedial prefrontal neural ensembles reflect changes in task utility that culminate in task quitting. Journal of Neurophysiology, 126(1), 313-329. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00003.2021
  • Carlos Silva, Blake Porter, and Kristin Hillman. (2020) Stimulation in the Rat Anterior Insula and Anterior Cingulate During an Effortful Weightlifting Task. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 15:643384. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.643384
  • Catrona Anderson, Renelyn Parra, Hayley Chapman, Alina Steinemer, Blake Porter, and Michael Colombo. (2020). Pigeon nidopallium caudolaterale, entopallium, and mesopallium ventrolaterale neural responses during categorisation of Money and Picasso paintings. Scientific Reports, 10, 15971. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72650-y
  • Blake Porter, Kunling Li, and Kristin Hillman. (2020) Regional activity in the rat anterior cingulate cortex and insula during persistence and quitting in a physical-effort task. eNeuro, 7(5),0243-20. https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0243-20.2020
  • Catrona Anderson, Melissa Johnston, Ethan J. Marrs, Blake Porter, and Michael Colombo. (2020) Delay activity in the Wulst of pigeons (Columba livia) represents correlates of both sample and reward information. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107214
  • Melissa Johnston, Blake Porter, and Michael Colombo. (2020) Nidopallium Caudolaterale Neuronal Response During Serial-Order Behaviour in Pigeons. Behavioural Brain Research, 378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112269
  • Blake Porter and Kristin L. Hillman (2019) A novel weight lifting task for investigating effort and persistence in rats. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 13:275. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00275/full
  • Madeline Dykes, Blake Porter, and Michael Colombo. (2019) Neurons in the pigeon nidopallium caidolaterale, but not the corticoidea dorsolateralis, display value and effort discounting related activity. Scientific Reports, 1(9), 15677. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-52216-3
  • Melissa Johnston, Blake Porter, and Michael Colombo. (2019) Delay activity in pigeon nidopallium caudolaterale during a variable-delay memory task. Behavioral Neuroscience, 133(6), 563-568. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31464458
  • Melissa Johnston, Blake Porter, and Michael Colombo. (2019) Delay Neurons: Comparative Overview. Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_2061-1
  • William James Clark, Blake Porter, and Michael Colombo. (2019) Searching for Face-Category Representation in the Avian Visual Forebrain. Frontiers in Physiology, 10:140. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00140
  • Blake Porter, Kristin L. Hillman, and David K. Bilkey. (2019) Anterior Cingulate Cortex encoding of effortful behavior. Journal of Neurophysiology, 121(2), 701-714. https://www.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jn.00654.2018
  • Blake Porter, Robert Schmidt, and David K. Bilkey. (2018) Hippocampal place cell encoding of sloping terrain. Hippocampus, 28(11), 767-782.  https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.22966. Open Access
  • Madeline Dykes, Aylin Klarer, Blake Porter, Jonas Rose, & Michael Colombo. (2018) Neurons in the pigeon Nidopallium Caudolaterale display value-related activity. Scientific Reports, 8:5377. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-23694-8. Open Access. [PDF]
  • Robert G.K. Munn, Kiah Hardcastle, Blake Porter, & David Bilkey. (2017) Circadian-scale periodic bursts in theta and gamma-band coherence between hippocampus, cingulate and insular cortices. Neurobiology of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms, 3, 26 – 37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbscr.2017.04.001. Open access. [PDF]
  • Lara M. Rangel, Jon W. Rueckemann, Pamela D. Riviere, Katie R. Keefe, Blake Porter, Ian S. Heimbuch, Carl H. Budlong, and Howard Eichenbaum. (2016) Rhythmic coordination of hippocampal neurons during associative memory processing. eLife, 5:e09849. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09849. Open Access. [PDF]
  • Anja Farovik, Ryan Place, Samuel McKenzie, Blake Porter, Catherine Munro, and Howard Eichenbaum. (2015) Orbitofrontal cortex encodes memories within value-based schemas and represents contexts that guide memory retrieval. Journal of Neuroscience, 35(21) 8333-8344. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0134-15.2015 [PDF] 
  • Sam McKenzie, Andrea J. Frank, Nathaniel R. Kinsky, Blake Porter, Pamela D. Riviere, and Howard Eichenbaum. (2014) Hippocampal Representation of Related and Opposing Memories Develop within Distinct, Hierarchically Organized Neural Schemas. Neuron, 83(1), 202 – 215. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2014.05.019 [PDF]

Poster Presentations:

  • Blake Porter, Catherine Shi, Evgeniia Kozlova, and Shantanu P. Jadhav. (2023) Hippocampal-prefrontal neural correlates of schema formation during a transitive inference learning. Society for Neuroscience.
  • Blake Porter, Catherine Shi, and Shantanu P. Jadhav (2022) Hippocampal-prefrontal circuit mechanisms that support inferential reasoning. Society for Neuroscience.
  • Will Clark, Blake Porter, Catrona Anderson, and Michael Colombo (2020) Investigating ventral steam computations in the Mesopallium and Entopallium of the Pigeon Brain. FENS Forum.
  • Catrona Anderson, Renelyn Parra, Alina Steinemer, Hayley Chapman , Blake Porter, and Michael Colombo. (2020) Pigeons (Columba livia) display lateralisation in reward and visual processing while categorising Picasso and Monet paintings. FENS Forum.
  • Kristin Hillman and Blake Porter (2019) A novel weight lifting task to investigate persistence in rodents. Australasian Neuroscience Society.
  • Blake Porter and Kristin Hillman (2019) A novel weight lifting task to investigate persistence in rodents. Society for Neuroscience.
  • Will Clark, Blake Porter, and Michael Colombo (2019) Investigating ventral stream computations in the Entopallium and Mesopallium of the pigeon brain. Society for Neuroscience.
  • Melissa Johnston, Blake Porter, and Michael Colombo (2019) Neural correlates of ordinal knowledge during serial-order tasks in pigeons. Society for Neuroscience.
  • Madeline Dykes, Blake Porter, and Michael Colombo (2019) Neurons in the pigeon Nidopallium Caudolaterale, but not the Corticoidea Dorsolateralis, display value related activity. Society for Neuroscience.
  • Kunling Li, Blake Porter, and Kristin Hillman (2019) Local field potential recordings in the rat Anterior Cingulate Cortex, Anterior Insula, and Ventral Tegmental Area during a voluntary effort exertion task. Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research.
  • David K Bilkey, Robert Schmidt, and Blake S. Porter. (2018) Sloping terrain induces changes in phase precession in hippocampal place cells. FENS Forum. Abstract.
  • William Clark, Blake Porter, and Michael Colombo. (2018) Face-category representation in the avian visual forebrain. FENS Forum. Poster.
  • Blake S. Porter, Calvin K. Young, and David K. Bilkey. (2016) Hippocampal place cell representations of effortful space. Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research. Proceedings.
  • Blake S. Porter, Kristin L. Hillman, and David K. Bilkey. (2015) The neural mechanisms of representing effortful space. Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research. Proceedings.
  • Lara M. Rangel, Katie R. Keefe, Pamela D. Riverère, Carl H. Budlong, Ian S. Heimbuch, Blake Porter, and Howard Eichenbaum. (2014) Single cell and ensemble odor-place representations in the Dentate Gyrus and CA1 of the Hippocampus. Society for Neuroscience Conference. Abstract.
  • Lara M. Rangel, Jeremiah S. Rosen, K. V. Chawla, Brian J. Ferreri, Ian Heimbuch, Blake Porter, and Howard Eichenbaum. (2013) Persistent increases in beta frequency oscillatory activity in the Dentate Gyrus of the Hippocampus During Object-Context Association Intervals. Society for Neuroscience Conference. Abstract.
  • Anja Farovik, Sam McKenzie, Ryan Place, Blake Porter, and Howard Eichenbaum. (2013) Neural activity by Medial Prefrontal cell ensembles during context-guided object discrimination. Society for Neuroscience Conference. Abstract.
  • Sam McKenzie, Andrea Frank, Lara M. Rangel, Jeremiah S. Rosen, Vittoria Smeglin, Blake Porter, and Howard Eichenbaum. (2013) Multidimensional coding in the Hippocampal network. Society for Neuroscience Conference. Abstract.
  • Blake Porter, Andrea Frank, Howard Eichenbaum. (2012) How does the Hippocampus integrate multiple related memory representations? Boston University Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program symposium. Link to Poster. Presenting the poster (to Sam McKenzie).

Talks:

  • Blake S. Porter. (2018) Rodent effort tasks. The Australian and New Zealand Laboratory Animal Association’s Tech Week.
  • Blake S. Porter. (2016) The effects of effort on hippocampal spatial representations. Brain Health Research Center 10th Annual Conference.
  • Blake S. Porter. (2015) The network dynamics of effort encoding between the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex. Brain Health Research Center’s 9th Annual Conference. Recap of the event.
  • Blake S. Porter (2015) The cost of space: How the brain works and how it plans costly routes. Presentation at the University of Otago’s Abbey College.

Research and Travel Funding:

University of Otago’s Brain Health Research Centre Travel Grant
2019
Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research
Queenstown, NZ

Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the Marsden Grant “Quit or persist? The neural mechanisms of forfeit behaviour ” 
October 2017 – September 2020
University of Otago, NZ

PhD Scholarship from the Marsden Grant “The Brain Mechanisms of Self-Control”
February 2014 – January 2017
University of Otago, NZ

New Zealand Neurological Foundation Student Travel Grants
2015, 2016
Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research
Queenstown, NZ

UROP/HHMI Summer Grant for investigating “How Does the Hippocampus Integrate Multiple Related Memory Representations”
Summer 2012
Boston University

Teaching Experience:

Research Teaching and Mentoring: Teaching students rodent behavioral training, stereotaxic surgery, in vivo electrophysiology methods, and Matlab.

Advisees:

Demonstrator at University of Otago

Spring 2016 & 2017

  • Biopsychology (PSYC317)

Mentor for Boston University Mind and Brain Society

Fall 2011 – Spring 2013

  • Mentored incoming freshman in the Undergraduate Neuroscience Program at BU.

Tutor at Tutor.com

October 2010 – September 2011

  • Tutored online from kindergarten to college level in biology, natural sciences, and math

Professional Service:

Peer Review:

  • Animal Behavior Cognition

University of Otago’s Emerging Neuroscientists Group 

Nov 2018 – present

Work Experience:

Long Term Potential Inc. 

May 2016 – May 2017

  • Founder and CEO – Focused on developing STEM education technologies for interactive learning.

www.longtermpotential.org

Technical Expertise:

  • Animal Behavior: Rat handling and training on context-object and odor-place associative memory tasks, effort modulated linear tracks, dual animal interaction task. Video behavioural scoring (Cineplex Editor) and behavioural spatial tracking analysis (Matlab). Designing and implementing novel tasks targeted at effort based neural computations.
  • In vivo electrophysiology: 8 – 96 channel microdrive design and construction for multisite recordings using conventional and 3D printing techniques. Implementation of wireless in vivo recording systems and methods. Stereotaxic surgical implantation of microdrives and electrodes for single unit and local field potential recordings in awake-behaving rats targeting hippocampal subregions (CA1, CA3, DG), mPFC, and Insula. Recording single units and local field potentials in awake-behaving rats.
  • Computer programming: Proficient: MATLAB for analysis of behavioural, single unit, and local field potential data. C++/Arduino Development Environment for microcontrollers for the use of data collection and experimental automation (ie, doors, touch screens, solenoids, etc). Some experience: Python, Processing (Java), and p5.js (JavaScript).

Research Interests:

  • How the brain encodes effort, how it is effort modulates the brain’s representations of the world, and how effort influences goal setting, decision making, and persistence.
  • Brain rhythms and their underlying mechanisms in order to investigate circuit level communication between the hippocampus and downstream structures, particularly the prefrontal cortex.
  • How brain structures organize similar and distinct memories and how memory organization influences learning and decision making.
  • How the brain represents space in three dimensions when the z-axis is behaviourally relevant.