Taylor B. Wise

What connections exist between the physical and abstract?

I study questions of spatial and abstract cognition including how these domains intersect. Informed by the evolutionary mechanisms behind spatial and abstract processing, my research compares learning and memory functions in spatial and social contexts using animal models.

My early research examined the effects of social enrichment on age-related cognitive decline in rats, demonstrating the importance of studying sociality in rodent models. Now as a PhD candidate with Rebecca Burwell at Brown University, my work focuses on characterizing cortical regions implicated in both spatial and social cognition.

Stemming from a life-long fascination with animal behavior, my science aims to shed light on the neural bases of higher-order cognition across species.