Earl K. Miller is Picower Professor of Neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds faculty positions in the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. His lab investigates the neural mechanisms underlying cognition and consciousness, with a focus on working memory, attention and executive brain functions. Key contributions include a theory of executive “top-down” control based on prefrontal cortex rule learning and goal maintenance, the discovery of multifunctional “mixed selectivity” neurons, and studies linking brainwave dynamics to cognition and consciousness. His work combines experimental and computational approaches to advance understanding of both healthy cognition and cognition in conditions such as autism and schizophrenia.
Miller holds a B.A. from Kent State University, an M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University, and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Kent State University. He has received numerous accolades and serves on advisory boards and editorial boards for major neuroscience journals. His 2001 paper with Jonathan Cohen describing a theory of executive control is one of the most cited in the history of neuroscience. Miller has funded the Earl K. Miller First Generation Scholarship at Kent State University to support disadvantaged first-generation college students.
