Associate Professor, Psychology and the CNBC, Research Scientist, Learning Research & Development Center, Psychology University of Pittsburgh   Phone: (412) 624-7029 Email: wheelerm@pitt.edu Lab Website: http://www.pitt.edu/~mew38/

Ph. D., Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Research Interests

I am interested in studying human memory and cognition using behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) approaches. My research has focused on using fMRI to identify neural correlates of memory retrieval, including the identification of neural bases of modality-specific memories. I am also interested in identifying neural bases of recognition memory, and using fMRI to further develop our understanding on a cognitive level. Other interests include learning more about the neural bases of decision in memory tasks, and how attentional control influences fMRI activity during retrieval.

This research has found that late regions of auditory and visual cortex are, to some extent, reactivated during retrieval of sound and picture information, respectively. Furthermore, regions of frontal and parietal lobes appear to be involved in memory- or task-specific decisions, and fMRI activity in left frontal regions tends to track the level of controlled processing required during retrieval. Recent research has taken advantage of new imaging methods and analysis techniques that can separate within-trial signals to examine the effect of attention on fMRI signals during memory retrieval. Future research will continue to investigate the role of attention set on memory retrieval, the neural bases of modality-specific memories, and the function of frontal and parietal regions in recognition memory.

Recent Publications

• Wheeler ME, Ploran EJ: Episodic memory. In L Squire, T Albright, F Bloom, F Gage, N Spitzer (Eds.), New Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Oxford: Elsevier, (in press).
• Ploran EP, Nelson SMM, Velanova K, Donaldson DI, Petersen SE, Wheeler ME: Evidence accumulation and the moment of recognition: Dissociating perceptual recognition processes using fMRI. J Neurosci 27(44): 11912-11924, 2007.
• Wheeler ME, Shulman GL, Buckner RL, Miezin FM, Velanova K, Petersen SE: Evidence for separate perceptual reactiviation and search processes during remembering. Cereb Cortex 16: 949-959, 2006.
• Wheeler ME, Buckner RL: Functional-anatomic correlates of remembering and knowing. Neuroimage 21: 1337-1349, 2004.
• Wheeler ME, Buckner RL: Functional dissociation among components of remembering: Control, perceived oldness, and content. J Neurosci 23: 3869-3880, 2003.
• Buckner RL, Wheeler ME: The cognitive neuroscience of remembering. Nat Rev Neurosci 2: 624-634. 2001.