Contact information
Research groups
Colleges
Websites
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BBSRC
UKRI funded research
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Neuroscience and Behaviour
Research Theme
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APAN
Advances and Prospectives in Auditory Neuroscience
Collaborators
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Randy Bruno
Professor of Neuroscience
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Johannes Dahmen
Departmental Lecturer
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Nicol Harper
Associate Professor
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Andrew King
Director, Centre for Integrative Neuroscience & Wellcome Principal Research Fellow
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Zoltan Molnar
Professor of Developmental Neuroscience
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Fernando Nodal
Departmental Lecturer
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Vladyslav Vyazovskiy
Professor of Sleep Physiology
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Ben Willmore
Departmental Lecturer
Kerry Walker
DPhil, MSc, BSc
Associate Professor of Neuroscience
- Tutorial Fellow in Medical Sciences, Exeter College
- Deputy Director of Biomedical Sciences, MSD
The Walker Group investigates how the brain interprets sound, from simple tones to complex, naturally occuring signals such as speech. The group aims to uncover how patterns of action potentials in auditory cortical neurons encode key features of sound, including pitch (the tonal quality of a sound); timbre (the spectral signature that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another); spatial location; and timing, which shapes the rhythm and flow of communication calls.
To address these questions, the group combines a range of experimental and computational approaches. Neuropixels microelectrodes are used to record the precise spiking responses of neurons in anaesthetised and awake, behaving animals. In vivo two-photon calcium imaging enables visualisation of the activity of large populations of neurons in real time. Psychophysical experiments in the group explore how humans and animals perceive sound. Finally, computational models of the auditory system are used to generate informed predictions and to better conceptualize experimental results.
Dr Walker is a Tutorial Fellow in Medical Sciences at Exeter College, where she teaches Biomedical Sciences and Pre-Clinical Medicine. She also serves as Deputy Director of the Biomedical Sciences MBiomedSci degree, and as a Reviewing Editor for the Journal of Neuroscience.
Key publications
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Cortical adaptation to sound reverberation.
Journal article
Ivanov AZ. et al, (2022), Elife, 11
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Complexity of frequency receptive fields predicts tonotopic variability across species.
Journal article
Gaucher Q. et al, (2020), Elife, 9
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Across-species differences in pitch perception are consistent with differences in cochlear filtering.
Journal article
Walker KM. et al, (2019), Elife, 8
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Local and Global Spatial Organization of Interaural Level Difference and Frequency Preferences in Auditory Cortex.
Journal article
Panniello M. et al, (2018), Cereb Cortex, 28, 350 - 369
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Auditory cortex represents both pitch judgments and the corresponding acoustic cues.
Journal article
Bizley JK. et al, (2013), Curr Biol, 23, 620 - 625
Recent publications
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Auditory training alters the cortical representation of complex sounds.
Journal article
Atilgan H. et al, (2025), J Neurosci
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Ultrasonic vocalisation rate tracks the diurnal pattern of activity in winter phenotype Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus).
Journal article
Harding CD. et al, (2024), J Comp Physiol B
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Cortical adaptation to sound reverberation.
Journal article
Ivanov AZ. et al, (2022), Elife, 11
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Current Research in Neurobiology, an experimental platform for innovation.
Journal article
Petkov CI. et al, (2021), Curr Res Neurobiol, 2
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Listening in complex acoustic scenes.
Journal article
King AJ. and Walker KM., (2020), Curr Opin Physiol, 18, 63 - 72