A group of young women in lab coats on McKeldin Mall

Profile photo of Nikolas Francis
Contact Info
Phone: 301.405.5741
Office: 1116 Bioscience Research Bldg
Lab: 1205 Bioscience Research Bldg
Francis Lab Website
Nikolas Francis
Assistant Professor
Brain and Behavior Institute (Joint Appointment)

Graduate Program Affiliations

  • Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (NACS)
  • BISI-Physiological Systems (PSYS)

Research Interests

Dr. Francis' research combines methods in animal behavior, neurophysiology, and data analysis to advance our understanding of how we listen to sound. Dr. Francis received his Ph.D. from MIT in 2011, where he used otoacoustic emissions to study brainstem control of the human cochlea. His postdoctoral work at UMD investigated the neural basis of auditory attention, memory, and decision-making, using 2-photon imaging and multi-channel electrophysiology in auditory cortex.

Education

Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011
B.A., University of Iowa, 2003

All Publications

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Latest Publications via PubMed

Putnam JW,Kumar A,Gill NK,Dinh J,Castellanos FO,Leusch S,Vauhgn S,Francis NA
Cortical Representation of Pitch Perception in Mice.
bioRxiv. 2025 Sep 4;:. pii: 2025.09.04.674262. doi: 10.1101/2025.09.04.674262. Epub 2025 Sep 4
Khan T,Cherkas K,Francis NA
Quantifying social distance using deep learning-based video analysis: results from the BTBR mouse model of autism.
Front Behav Neurosci. 2025;19:1602205. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2025.1602205. Epub 2025 Jun 20
Brockett AT,Francis NA
Psilocybin decreases neural responsiveness and increases functional connectivity while preserving pure-tone frequency selectivity in mouse auditory cortex.
J Neurophysiol. 2024 Jul 1;132(1):45-53. doi: 10.1152/jn.00124.2024. Epub 2024 May 29
Koçillari L,Celotto M,Francis NA,Mukherjee S,Babadi B,Kanold PO,Panzeri S
Behavioural relevance of redundant and synergistic stimulus information between functionally connected neurons in mouse auditory cortex.
Brain Inform. 2023 Dec 5;10(1):34. doi: 10.1186/s40708-023-00212-9. Epub 2023 Dec 5
Gill NK,Francis NA
Repetition plasticity in primary auditory cortex occurs across long timescales for spectrotemporally randomized pure-tones.
bioRxiv. 2023 Apr 28;:. pii: 2023.04.26.538446. doi: 10.1101/2023.04.26.538446. Epub 2023 Apr 28
Francis NA,Mukherjee S,Koçillari L,Panzeri S,Babadi B,Kanold PO
Sequential transmission of task-relevant information in cortical neuronal networks.
Cell Rep. 2022 May 31;39(9):110878. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110878. Epub
Alipio JB,Brockett AT,Fox ME,Tennyson SS,deBettencourt CA,El-Metwally D,Francis NA,Kanold PO,Lobo MK,Roesch MR,Keller A
Enduring consequences of perinatal fentanyl exposure in mice.
Addict Biol. 2021 Mar;26(2):e12895. doi: 10.1111/adb.12895. Epub 2020 Mar 18
Francis NA,Bohlke K,Kanold PO
Automated Behavioral Experiments in Mice Reveal Periodic Cycles of Task Engagement within Circadian Rhythms.
eNeuro. 2019 Sep/Oct;6(5):. pii: ENEURO.0121-19.2019. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0121-19.2019. Epub 2019 Oct 2
Francis NA,Elgueda D,Englitz B,Fritz JB,Shamma SA
Laminar profile of task-related plasticity in ferret primary auditory cortex.
Sci Rep. 2018 Nov 6;8(1):16375. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-34739-3. Epub 2018 Nov 6