About the lab

The Mendoza-Halliday Lab investigates the mechanisms by which neurons in the brain generate, maintain, monitor, and dynamically transform mental representations in working memory—those that are available even without the use of our senses. This extraordinary cognitive ability is one of the foundations of human intelligence, and is critical for most other cognitive functions, such as attention, decision-making, and action-planning, as well as creativity and imagination. Working memory is also one of the cognitive functions with the highest risk of failure in major neurological and psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, psychosis, and bipolar disorder.