Research
Nikolay Kukushkin is a clinical associate professor at NYU’s Liberal Studies and a senior scientist at Thomas Carew’s laboratory at the Center for Neural Science.
Kukushkin studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms of memory formation. His research shows that memory is not confined to neuronal circuits, but rather exists in all types of cells in humans and other organisms, relying on a conserved set of molecular tools.
Select peer-reviewed publications
N. V. Kukushkin, R. E. Carney,
T. Tabassum, T. J. CarewNature Communications, 2024
Non-neural cells, including kidney cells, can learn and form memories in ways similar to neurons.
N. V. Kukushkin, T. Tabassum, T. J. CarewPNAS, 2022
A “tug of war” between two opposing molecules determines whether neurons form a memory.
N. V. Kukushkin and T. J. CarewNeuron, 2017
Memory is not confined to a particular location or locations in the brain. Instead, it exists in time: a “Fourier transform of experience.”
P. Miranda, A. A. Mirisis,
N. V. Kukushkin, T. J. CarewPNAS, 2023
A common cell signaling cascade acts as a pattern detector.
N. V. Kukushkin, R. E. Carney,
T. Tabassum, T. J. Carew
Scientific Reports, 2019
Insulin-like peptides strengthen memory but induce a “food coma” in Aplysia, suggesting common evolutionary origins for the two effects.
N. V. KukushkinNeurobiology of Learning and Memory, 2018
An expanded definition of memory must include plants, signaling cascades, and non-neural cells.