Makoto Uji, PhD

Makoto Uji, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Before joining Sleep, Cognition, and Neuroimaging Lab, I worked as a Research Fellow in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews in the UK. This postdoctoral work was to examine the underlying mechanisms of human 3D depth perception using psychophysics experiments, EEG, and fMRI. My first postdoctoral work at the University of Birmingham investigated spatiotemporal dynamics of human brain functions using simultaneous EEG-fMRI. The purpose of this project was to examine the feasibility of recording EEG simultaneously with multiband fMRI in humans, and to demonstrate its potential for investigating the relationships between gamma frequency EEG activity and BOLD responses during a motor task. Through my experiences, I have gained knowledge of how non-invasive neuroimaging (i.e. EEG, fMRI, & simultaneous EEG-fMRI) can be applied to study human brain function and have become deeply interested in using these neuroimaging techniques to better understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of neural network function. My postdoctoral experiences built upon my PhD work investigating the underlying processes of sensorimotor control and learning (i.e. eye-hand coordination) at the Liverpool John Moores University. I am currently investigating novel advanced multimodal data analysis approaches for the study of sleep patterns using simultaneous EEG-fMRI and EEG with Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) during whole night recordings in clinical and healthy populations.

My general research interest is to better understand how human brain integrates perceptual, cognitive, and motor information to produce and control our behaviours. I apply non-invasive neuroimaging methods (i.e. EEG, fMRI, & simultaneous EEG-fMRI) to study human brain function. I have gained a huge amount of experiences from experts in EEG-fMRI and neurovascular coupling (Karen Mullinger & Stephen Mayhew), and become deeply interested in using these neuroimaging techniques to better understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of neural network function in humans. I would like to conduct advanced neuroimaging studies in clinical and healthy populations both during awake and sleep.

Peer-reviewed publications

  • Uji, M., Lingnau, A., Cavin, I. Vishwanath, D. (2019). Identifying cortical substrates underlying the phenomenology of stereopsis and realness: A pilot fMRI study. Frontiers in Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.00646

  • Uji, M., Jentzsch, I., Redburn, J., Vishwanath, D. (2019). Dissociating neural activity associated with the subjective phenomenology of monocular stereopsis: an EEG study. Neuropsychologia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.04.017

  • Uji, M., Wilson, R., Francis, S.T., Mullinger, K.J., Mayhew, S.D. (2018). Exploring the advantages of multiband fMRI with simultaneous EEG to investigate coupling between gamma frequency neural activity and the BOLD response in humans. Human Brain Mapping. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23943

Biography

Before joining Sleep, Cognition, and Neuroimaging Lab, I worked as a Research Fellow in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews in the UK. This postdoctoral work was to examine the underlying mechanisms of human 3D depth perception using psychophysics experiments, EEG, and fMRI. My first postdoctoral work at the University of Birmingham investigated spatiotemporal dynamics of human brain functions using simultaneous EEG-fMRI. The purpose of this project was to examine the feasibility of recording EEG simultaneously with multiband fMRI in humans, and to demonstrate its potential for investigating the relationships between gamma frequency EEG activity and BOLD responses during a motor task. Through my experiences, I have gained knowledge of how non-invasive neuroimaging (i.e. EEG, fMRI, & simultaneous EEG-fMRI) can be applied to study human brain function and have become deeply interested in using these neuroimaging techniques to better understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of neural network function. My postdoctoral experiences built upon my PhD work investigating the underlying processes of sensorimotor control and learning (i.e. eye-hand coordination) at the Liverpool John Moores University. I am currently investigating novel advanced multimodal data analysis approaches for the study of sleep patterns using simultaneous EEG-fMRI and EEG with Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) during whole night recordings in clinical and healthy populations.

Research interests

My general research interest is to better understand how human brain integrates perceptual, cognitive, and motor information to produce and control our behaviours. I apply non-invasive neuroimaging methods (i.e. EEG, fMRI, & simultaneous EEG-fMRI) to study human brain function. I have gained a huge amount of experiences from experts in EEG-fMRI and neurovascular coupling (Karen Mullinger & Stephen Mayhew), and become deeply interested in using these neuroimaging techniques to better understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of neural network function in humans. I would like to conduct advanced neuroimaging studies in clinical and healthy populations both during awake and sleep.

Contact details
Selected publications

Peer-reviewed publications

  • Uji, M., Lingnau, A., Cavin, I. Vishwanath, D. (2019). Identifying cortical substrates underlying the phenomenology of stereopsis and realness: A pilot fMRI study. Frontiers in Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.00646

  • Uji, M., Jentzsch, I., Redburn, J., Vishwanath, D. (2019). Dissociating neural activity associated with the subjective phenomenology of monocular stereopsis: an EEG study. Neuropsychologia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.04.017

  • Uji, M., Wilson, R., Francis, S.T., Mullinger, K.J., Mayhew, S.D. (2018). Exploring the advantages of multiband fMRI with simultaneous EEG to investigate coupling between gamma frequency neural activity and the BOLD response in humans. Human Brain Mapping. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23943