Head & Neck Surgery

Vestibular Neuroscience Laboratory

Under the direction of Dr. Larry Hoffman, the Vestibular Neuroscience Lab is dedicated to questions concerning sensory coding and adaptive plasticity within the inner ear vestibular receptors and to understanding how functional diversity among afferent neural signals are utilized by the central nervous system. An integrated approach is utilized to investigate these issues, incorporating strategies of electrophysiology, morphology, cell biology, systems engineering, and computational neuroscience. Currently being studied are the attributes of sensory coding under normal conditions, but also under conditions in which the ambient sensory environment is modified as occurs in altered gravitational fields, including those associated with spaceflight. Under such conditions, the inner ear gravity receptors have adapted to new ambient conditions, suggesting a form of sensory learning.

Members

  • Principal Investigator: Larry Hoffman, PhD
  • Postdoctoral Scholar: Peihan Orestes
  • Research Associate: Kristel Choy

Collaborators

  • Charles A. Fuller: Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, UC Davis
  • Arthur Hand: Departments of Craniofacial Sciences & Cell Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center
  • Walter Metzner: Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, UCLA
  • Ivan A. Lopez: Department of Head & Neck Surgery, Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
  • Michael G. Paulin: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
  • Felix E. Schweizer: Department of Neurobiology, Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
  • Hans Straka: Faculty of Biology, Ludwig Maximillians University, Munich, Germany
  • Mark Terasaki: Department of Cell Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center

Recent Publications

For research publications, visit PubMed website >

Contact Information

Larry Hoffman, PhD:
[email protected]
(310) 825-9823 (office)
(310) 206-5152 (lab)