Dr. Emmons earned a BA in Biology and Neuroscience at St. Olaf College and a PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Iowa. His research models basic aspects of disease and injury states like concussion. He teaches introduction to neuroscience, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and courses in systems neuroscience.
The Emmons lab combines elements of behavioral and systems neuroscience to better understand how damage to the brain affects higher-order processes like attention and decision-making. Ongoing projects use mouse models to elucidate the way basic aspects of cognition change following mild traumatic brain injury. The lab uses operant-conditioning paradigms that assess spatial working memory and attention in combination with in vivo electrophysiology to determine patterns of neuronal activity associated with impairments in behavior. Future research will seek ways to ameliorate or mitigate these behavioral impairments.
