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Research & Publications

The Ramirez Lab investigates the system-level neural mechanisms underlying memory formation and maintenance. Our work bridges brainstem, thalamic, hippocampal, and cortical circuits — combining in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetics, computational modelling, and mesoscopic imaging in rodents and humans.

Full Publication List

Peer-reviewed Articles

  1. Ramirez-Cardenas A & Ramirez-Villegas JF et al. Exercise acutely modulates hippocampal-neocortical ripple dynamics. Brain Communications. 2026 8(2): fcag041. DOI
  2. Ramirez-Villegas JF, Besserve M, Murayama Y, Evrard HC, Oeltermann A & Logothetis NK. Coupling of hippocampal theta and ripples with pontogeniculooccipital waves. Nature. 2021 589(7840): 96-102. DOI
  3. Giglia G, Gambino G, Puig MV, Ramirez-Villegas JF & Zaldivar D. Neuromodulatory ascending systems: Their influence at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. Frontiers in Neural Circuits. 2022 16(1028154): 1-3. DOI
  4. Safavi S, Panagiotaropoulos T, Kapoor V, Ramirez-Villegas JF, Logothetis NK & Besserve M. Uncovering the organization of neural circuits with generalized phase locking analysis. PLOS Computational Biology. 2022 19(4): e1010983. DOI
  5. Ramirez-Villegas JF, Willeke KF, Logothetis NK & Besserve M. Dissecting the frequency-dependent network mechanisms of in vivo hippocampal sharp wave-ripples. Neuron. 2018 100(5): 1224-1240. DOI
  6. Ramirez-Villegas JF, Logothetis NK & Besserve M. Diversity of sharp wave-ripple complexes reveals differentiated brain-wide dynamical events. PNAS. 2015 112(46): E6379-E6387. DOI
  7. Ramirez-Moreno DF, Schwartz O & Ramirez-Villegas JF. A saliency-based bottom-up visual attention model for dynamic scenes analysis. Biological Cybernetics. 2013 107(2): 141-160. DOI
  8. Ramirez-Villegas JF & Ramirez-Moreno DF. Color coding in the cortex: A modified approach to bottom-up visual attention. Biological Cybernetics. 2012 107(1): 39-47. DOI
  9. Ramirez-Villegas JF & Ramirez-Moreno DF. Wavelet packet energy, Tsallis entropy and statistical parameterization for support vector-based and neural-based classification of mammographic regions. Neurocomputing. 2012 77(1): 82-100. DOI
  10. Ramirez-Villegas JF, Lam-Espinosa E, Ramirez-Moreno DF, Calvo-Echeverry PC & Agredo-Rodriguez W. Heart rate variability dynamics for the prognosis of cardiovascular risk. PLoS ONE. 2011 6(2): e17060. DOI
  11. Ramirez-Moreno DF & Ramirez-Villegas JF. Una implementación computacional de un modelo de atención visual Bottom-up aplicado a escenas naturales. Revista de Ingeniería. 2011 35(2): 6-11. DOI
  12. Ramirez-Villegas JF & Ramirez-Moreno DF. Desarrollo de la atención visual en escenas naturales: un modelo bottom-up basado en mapa de prominencia con dinámica realista. El Hombre y la Máquina. 2011 36(1): 28-39. Link
  13. Ramirez-Villegas JF & Ramirez-Moreno DF. Una revisión de modelos de atención visual bottom-up neurobiológicamente inspirados. El Hombre y la Máquina. 2010 35(2): 143-152. Link

Preprints

  1. Živadinović P, Lombardi F, Dupret D, Boccara C, Taveira S, Ramirez-Villegas JF, Tkačik G & Csicsvari J. The scaling behavior of hippocampal activity in sleep/rest predicts spatial memory performance. bioRxiv. 2026. DOI
  2. Shao K, Ramirez-Villegas JF, Logothetis NK & Besserve M. A model of sleep-stage dependent pontogeniculooccipital waves supports regulation of cortical synaptic plasticity. bioRxiv. 2021. DOI

Current Scientific Collaborators

The Ramirez Lab actively collaborates with leading research groups worldwide.

Prof. Santiago Canals Instituto de Neurociencias Alicante (CSIC-UMH)
canalslab.com →
Prof. Majid Mohajerani McGill University / Mila – Quebec AI Institute
douglas.research.mcgill.ca →
Prof. Michelle Voss University of Iowa
psychology.uiowa.edu →
Prof. Matthew Howard University of Iowa
neurosurgery.medicine.uiowa.edu →
Prof. Jozsef Csicsvari Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
ista.ac.at →