William E. Skaggs was an American neuroscientist. He is noted for his work on the functioning of the hippocampus.
William E. Skaggs | |
|---|---|
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| Alma mater | University of Arizona |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | neurophysiology, behavioral neuroscience, computational neuroscience |
| Institutions | University of California, Davis |
| Thesis | Relations between the theta rhythm and activity patterns of hippocampal neurons (1995) |
| Doctoral advisor | Bruce McNaughton |
| Other academic advisors | Carol A. Barnes |
Education
editSkaggs obtained his PhD in 1995 under the direction of Bruce McNaughton at the University of Arizona.[1]
Scholarship
editSkaggs was a faculty member at the University of California, Davis, where he conducted research on neurophysiology in primates, often using computational neuroscience.[2] He was noted particularly for his elucidation of the role of theta waves in the function of the hippocampus, via their role in phase precession and firing replay.[2] This work led to a greater understanding of memory, learning, and navigation through space.[3]
He was also a science writer who helped popularize scientific concepts for a general audience.[3] In this role, he was an editor at Wikipedia, under the name Looie496.[3]
A special issue of the journal Behavioral Neuroscience was dedicated to Skaggs in 2020, noting that he had died from a heart attack.[4]
Publications
editGoogle Scholar lists more than 40 publications that, together, have been cited over 10,000 times (three of them over 1000 times each), giving Skaggs an h-index of 26.[5] His most-cited papers are:[5]
- Skaggs, William E.; McNaughton, Bruce L.; Wilson, Matthew A.; Barnes, Carol A. (1996). "Theta phase precession in hippocampal neuronal populations and the compression of temporal sequences". Hippocampus. 6 (2): 149–172. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-1063(1996)6:2<149::AID-HIPO6>3.0.CO;2-K. PMID 8797016. S2CID 15813385. (>1800 citations)
- Skaggs, William E.; McNaughton, Bruce L. (29 March 1996). "Replay of neuronal firing sequences in rat hippocampus during sleep following spatial experience". Science. 271 (5257): 1870–1873. Bibcode:1996Sci...271.1870S. doi:10.1126/science.271.5257.1870. PMID 8596957. S2CID 23694471. (>1300 citations)
- McNaughton, B. L.; Barnes, C. A.; Gerrard, J. L.; Gothard, K.; Jung, M. W.; Knierim, J. J.; Kudrimoti, H.; Qin, Y.; Skaggs, W. E.; Suster, M.; Weaver, K. L. (1 January 1996). "Deciphering the Hippocampal Polyglot: the hippocampus as a path integration system". Journal of Experimental Biology. 199 (1): 173–185. doi:10.1242/jeb.199.1.173. PMID 8576689. (>1000 citations)
References
edit- ^ Skaggs, William E. (1995). "Relations between the theta rhythm and activity patterns of hippocampal neurons". UA Graduate and Undergraduate Research. University of Arizona. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ a b "William E. Skaggs – Publications". Neurotree. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ a b c "Stories by William Skaggs". Scientific American. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ Burke, Sara N.; Maurer, Drew P. (December 2020). "Floating ideas on theta waves". Behavioral Neuroscience. 134 (6): 471–474. doi:10.1037/bne0000438. PMC 8412214. PMID 33570990.
- ^ a b "William Skaggs". Google Scholar. Retrieved 19 October 2023.