Michael Brito

B.A. in Psychology, University of California Santa Barbara, 2014

Admission year: 2016

Advisor: George Mashour

Current project: Using dissociative anesthetics such as ketamine and nitrous oxide, I aim to probe the neurochemical and neurobiological substrates by which the complexity of signaling within the cortex is regulated. To achieve this, my current work employs high-density EEG, multielectrode arrays, microdialysis, and chemogenetics in rodents and non-human primates.

Other interests: My principal interests are in how the brain integrates, or "binds", information to generate conscious experience. I am particularly interested in how these cognitive processes are disrupted under altered states of consciousness such as general anesthesia and the psychedelic state.

Teaching experience: Graduate Student Instructor for Human Neuropsychology (PSY 345)

Honors, grants & awards: Rackham Merit Fellow, Marine Biological Laboratory SPINES Fellow, NSF Graduate Research Fellow

Service & leadership: Mentoring Youth and Early Leaders in Neuroscience (MYELIN), Graduate/Undergraduate Mentorship in Biology (GUMB), Special Olympics Michigan 

Career Goals: I hope to one day become a tenured professor and leader in the study of consciousness. Through my work, I hope I can become a mentor and an example for first-generation students and aspiring academics from low-income backgrounds. 

Hobbies: When I'm not thinking about consciousness, I enjoy playing the upright and electric bass, camping, hiking, and meditating.