W. Martin Usrey, Ph.D.

When it comes to brain anatomy, the thalamus occupies a humble position. It sits at the top of our brainstem — an apparent vestige of our reptilian past — and is dwarfed by the massive, wrinkled cerebral cortex, which sits above it. The cortex is often credited as the throne of human intellect. But a team of researchers across the country, with UC Davis led by W. Martin Usrey, sees the thalamus as a critical coordinator of our thoughts and perceptions – and pivotal in human disease.

We watch a ball as it falls into our glove. We hear a strange sound in another part of the house and listen intently. In neuroscience, the act of narrowing our senses in response to an environmental event is called “attention,” and it is understood that when we attend to a stimulus, we lose the ability to focus on other surrounding inputs.

Recently, the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences named Professor W. Martin Usrey, a neurobiologist interested in the physiology of vision, to the Barbara A. Horwitz and John M. Horowitz Endowed Chair in Physiology. Usrey, who is the chair of the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior and a faculty member of the Center for Neuroscience,  will hold the appointment for five years. The endowment will support his research, teaching and service activities.