Ph.D., University of Chicago (2018)

Research Interests

Memory; Attention; Perception; Cognitive Neuroscience; Electroencephalography (EEG); Oscillations; Machine learning

Research statement

Our ability to maintain and later retrieve detailed visual memories is an everyday experience, and completing almost any task requires us to rapidly shuttle information between active and passive memory states. For example, imagine that you are on a hikehike, and you approach an unfamiliar fork in the path. In order to decide where to go, you need to retrieve the mental representation of the trail map and compare it to your recent path. Incredibly, all of this can take place in a few moments. I’m broadly interested in understanding how the brain supports detailed visual memories and how these memories impact future learning. Memory formation and retrieval is tightly connected to a host of cognitive processes and neural mechanisms. Thus, my research program encompasses the study of questions pertaining to perception, attention and memory in addition to how these different processes interact. My methodological expertise is primarily in combining behavioral tasks, human electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, and machine learning approaches in order to understand how the brain encodes, maintains, and retrieves information about visual features.

Sutterer, D. W., Polyn, S., & Woodman, G. F. (2021). Alpha-band activity tracks a 2-dimensional spotlight of attention during spatial working memory maintenance. Journal of Neurophysiology, 125(3), 957–971.

Sutterer, D. W., Coia, A. J., Sun, V., Shevell, S. K., & Awh, E. (2021). Decoding chromaticity and luminance from patterns of EEG activity. Psychophysiology, 58(4), e13779.

Sutterer, D.W., Foster, J.J., Serences, J.T., Vogel, E.K., & Awh, E. (2019). Alpha-band oscillations track the retrieval of precise spatial representations from long-term memory. Journal of Neurophysiology, 122(2) 539-551.

Sutterer*, D.W., Foster*, J.J., Adam, K.C.S., Vogel, E.K., Awh, E. (2019). Item-specific delay activity demonstrates concurrent storage of multiple active neural representations in working memory. PLOS Biology.

Foster, J.J., Sutterer, D.W., Serences, J.T., Vogel, E.K., & Awh, E. (2017). Alpha-band oscillations enable spatially and temporally resolved tracking of covert spatial attention. Psychological Science, 28(7), 929-941.

Foster J.J., Sutterer, D.W., Serences, J.T., Vogel. E.K., & Awh, E. (2016). The topography of alpha-band activity tracks the content of spatial working memory. Journal of Neurophysiology, 115(1) 168-177.

Sutterer, D.W., & Awh, E. (2016) Retrieval practice enhances the accessibility but not the quality of memory. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 23(3): 831-841.