How Humans Learn:

Harel Shouval, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy, Medical School and GSBS

Harel Shouval, Ph.D.

Learning is sometimes described as making a mental connection. Shouval is studying where the connections are made in the brain – the synapses, where nervous impulses pass from one neuron to another.

“These synapses are the means by which one neuron communicates with another,” Shouval said, “and changes in their weights or strengths are called synaptic plasticity. My research focuses on identifying the rules by which changes in synaptic strength – believed to be the basis of learning, memory and development in the cortex – take place.

“I concentrate on theoretical/computational approaches to study synaptic plasticity at many levels, from its molecular basis to its functional implications,” he said. “I believe that theoretical studies are essential for forming the link between these different levels.”

The aim of Shouval’s research is fundamental – to understand how humans learn and how the nervous system develops. “When we understand that,” he said, “we will be able to understand why something goes wrong with those processes in such disorders as Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Shouval, who holds a doctorate in physics, has an appointment in the Center for Biomedical Engineering, a consortium that includes the UT Health Science Center at Houston, UT Austin and the UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.