Jesse Jackson

Assistant Professor
PhD, McGill University

Laboratory: 7-22 Medical Sciences
Email address: jackson4@ualberta.ca

Laboratory Website

Research Interests / Academic Activities

  1. The organization of cells types and connections of the neocortex. The neocortex is made up of different cells types. How do different cell types connect, and how do connectivity motifs enable specific activity patterns? We use in vivo calcium imaging and electrophysiology in awake mice to explore  how ensembles of neurons in the neocortex correlate with behavior. In addition, we explore the roles of different cells types in the cortex through optogenetic and pharmacogenetic perturbations. 
  2. The physiology and function of the claustrum. The claustrum is a small subcortical region with exceptionally dense connections with many cortical regions. However, very little is known regarding the function of the claustrum. We have developed methods to specifically manipulate and record neural activity within the claustrum while maintaining pathway specificity. Experiments are underway to study the behavioral correlates of claustrum activity and the necessity of claustrocortical pathways for innate and goal directed behavior. 
  3. Stress and social behavior . Mice, similar to humans, are highly social. What are the brain networks that control various aspects of social behavior in mice. How do mice recognize and and learn from each other? Social isolation is a form of stress, and long deprivation of social interactions can have devastating consequences on the cellular function in the brain. We investigate how social isolation changes the structural and physiological organization of connections in the neocortex

 

Select Publications

  1. Do AD, Jackson J (2022). Premotor activity in the claustrum. Neuron 110(3): 356-357
  2. Erwin SR, Bristow BN, Sullivan KE, Kendrick RM, Marriott B, Wang L, Clements J, Lemire AL,  Jackson J Cembrowski MS (2021). Spatially patterned excitatory subtypes and projections of the claustrum. eLife. https://elifesciences.org/articles/68967
  3. Smith JB, Lee AL, Jackson J (2020) The claustrum. Current Biology 30 (23): R1401:1406
  4. Marriott BA, Do AD, Zahacy R, Jackson J (2020) Topographic gradients define the projection patterns of the claustrum core and shell in mice. Journal of Comparative Neurology. doi: 10.1002/cne.25043. see preprint on bioRxiv: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.11.293381v1
  5. Jackson J, Smith JB, Lee AK (2020) The Anatomy and Physiology of Claustrum-Cortex Interactions. Annual Reviews in Neuroscience (online).
  6. Jackson J (2018) Attention: Noisy networks are tuned out by the claustrum (in press,Current Biology) - Comment on Atlan et al. 
  7. Jackson J, Karnani M, Zemelman B, Burdakov D, Lee A (2018) Inhibitory control of prefrontal cortex by the claustrum. Neuron. 
  8. Karnani MM, Jackson J (2018) Interneuron cooperativity in cortical circuits. The Neuroscientist.
  9. Ayzenshtat I, Karnani MM, Jackson J, Yuste R (2016). Cortical control of spatial resolution by VIP+ interneurons. Journal of Neuroscience 36: 11498-11509
  10. Jackson J, Ayzenshtat I, Karnani MM, Yuste R (2016) VIP+ interneurons control cortical activity across brain states. Journal of Neurophysiology 115(6): 3008-17. 

Laboratory Members

Dr. Tarek Shaker (Post-doctoral fellow)
Ryan Zahacy (PhD student)
Christian Faig (PhD student)
Alison Do (PhD student)
Brian Marriot (PhD student)