Nick Morgan Timme

Research in our laboratory is focused on understanding the neural computations underlying decision-making and how they malfunction. Specifically, we are most interested in understanding the causes of aversion-resistant alcohol drinking and finding treatments for this key component of alcohol use disorder (AUD, “alcoholism”). People who suffer from AUD frequently drink alcohol despite negative consequences. Our lab seeks to identify and repair alterations in the neural circuits that govern the decision to drink which produce this behavior.

In pursuit of these goals, we employ pre-clinical rodent models and in vivo electrophysiology to examine neural computations during decision-making. We also utilize advanced data analysis techniques, including machine learning and computational models to analyze the data. We also utilize optogenetic and chemogenetic techniques to modify neural behavior.

In the future, we will expand our studies to include the roll stress plays in aversion-resistant drinking, we will examine other types of addiction (both addictions with (e.g., opioids) and without (e.g., gambling) exogenous pharmacological elements), and we will pursue more advanced computational modelling approaches to improve treatment predictions.

Grant: #R00AA028265 Investigators:Timme, Nicholas 01-01-2024 -12-31-2024 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Identifying how alcohol-evoked changes in neural firing affect systems level computations during decision-making Role:PI 0.00 Hold Level:Federal

Peer Reviewed Publications

N. M. Timme, C. E. Ardinger, S. D. C. Weir, R. Zelaya-Escobar, R. Kruger, C. C. Lapish (2024. ) Non-consummatory behavior signals predict aversion-resistant alcohol drinking in head-fixed mice.Neuropharmacology, , 242 ,109762 More Information

Timme, Nicholas M (2024. ) Reducing maladaptive behavior in neuropsychiatric disorders using network modification.Frontiers in psychiatry, , 15 ,1487275 More Information

Timme, Nicholas M; Ardinger, Cherish E; Weir, Seth D C; Zelaya-Escobar, Rachel; Kruger, Rachel; Lapish, Christopher C (2024. ) Non-consummatory behavior signals predict aversion-resistant alcohol drinking in head-fixed mice.Neuropharmacology, , 242 ,109762 More Information

Timme, Nicholas M; Ardinger, Cherish E; Weir, Seth D C; Zelaya-Escobar, Rachel; Kruger, Rachel; Lapish, Christopher C (2023. ) Non-Consummatory Behavior Signals Predict Aversion-Resistant Alcohol Drinking in Head-Fixed Mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, , More Information

Timme, Nicholas M; Ma, Baofeng; Linsenbardt, David; Cornwell, Ethan; Galbari, Taylor; Lapish, Christopher C (2022. ) Compulsive alcohol drinking in rodents is associated with altered representations of behavioral control and seeking in dorsal medial prefrontal cortex.Nature communications, , 13 (1 ) ,3990 More Information

Sherrill, Samantha P; Timme, Nicholas M; Beggs, John M; Newman, Ehren L (2021. ) Partial information decomposition reveals that synergistic neural integration is greater downstream of recurrent information flow in organotypic cortical cultures.PLoS computational biology, , 17 (7 ) ,e1009196 More Information

Sherrill, Samantha P; Timme, Nicholas M; Beggs, John M; Newman, Ehren L (2020. ) Correlated activity favors synergistic processing in local cortical networks in vitro at synaptically relevant timescales.Network neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.), , 4 (3 ) ,678-697 More Information

Timme, Nicholas M; Linsenbardt, David; Lapish, Christopher C (2020. ) A Method to Present and Analyze Ensembles of Information Sources.Entropy (Basel, Switzerland), , 22 (5 ) , More Information

Linsenbardt, David N; Timme, Nicholas M; Lapish, Christopher C (2019. ) Encoding of the Intent to Drink Alcohol by the Prefrontal Cortex Is Blunted in Rats with a Family History of Excessive Drinking.eNeuro, , 6 (4 ) , More Information

Faber, Samantha P; Timme, Nicholas M; Beggs, John M; Newman, Ehren L (2019. ) Computation is concentrated in rich clubs of local cortical networks.Network neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.), , 3 (2 ) ,384-404 More Information

Timme, Nicholas M; Lapish, Christopher (2018. ) A Tutorial for Information Theory in Neuroscience.eNeuro, , 5 (3 ) , More Information

Janetsian-Fritz, Sarine S; Timme, Nicholas M; Timm, Maureen M; McCane, Aqilah M; Baucum Ii, Anthony J; O'Donnell, Brian F; Lapish, Christopher C (2018. ) Maternal deprivation induces alterations in cognitive and cortical function in adulthood.Translational psychiatry, , 8 (1 ) ,71 More Information

Timme, Nicholas M; Marshall, Najja J; Bennett, Nicholas; Ripp, Monica; Lautzenhiser, Edward; Beggs, John M (2016. ) Criticality Maximizes Complexity in Neural Tissue.Frontiers in physiology, , 7 ,425 More Information

Marshall, Najja; Timme, Nicholas M; Bennett, Nicholas; Ripp, Monica; Lautzenhiser, Edward; Beggs, John M (2016. ) Analysis of Power Laws, Shape Collapses, and Neural Complexity: New Techniques and MATLAB Support via the NCC Toolbox.Frontiers in physiology, , 7 ,250 More Information

Timme, Nicholas M; Ito, Shinya; Myroshnychenko, Maxym; Nigam, Sunny; Shimono, Masanori; Yeh, Fang-Chin; Hottowy, Pawel; Litke, Alan M; Beggs, John M (2016. ) High-Degree Neurons Feed Cortical Computations.PLoS computational biology, , 12 (5 ) ,e1004858 More Information

Nigam, Sunny; Shimono, Masanori; Ito, Shinya; Yeh, Fang-Chin; Timme, Nicholas; Myroshnychenko, Maxym; Lapish, Christopher C; Tosi, Zachary; Hottowy, Pawel; Smith, Wesley C; Masmanidis, Sotiris C; Litke, Alan M; Sporns, Olaf; Beggs, John M (2016. ) Rich-Club Organization in Effective Connectivity among Cortical Neurons.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, , 36 (3 ) ,670-84 More Information

Timme, Nicholas; Ito, Shinya; Myroshnychenko, Maxym; Yeh, Fang-Chin; Hiolski, Emma; Hottowy, Pawel; Beggs, John M (2014. ) Multiplex networks of cortical and hippocampal neurons revealed at different timescales.PloS one, , 9 (12 ) ,e115764 More Information

Ito, Shinya; Yeh, Fang-Chin; Hiolski, Emma; Rydygier, Przemyslaw; Gunning, Deborah E; Hottowy, Pawel; Timme, Nicholas; Litke, Alan M; Beggs, John M (2014. ) Large-scale, high-resolution multielectrode-array recording depicts functional network differences of cortical and hippocampal cultures.PloS one, , 9 (8 ) ,e105324 More Information

Timme, Nicholas; Alford, Wesley; Flecker, Benjamin; Beggs, John M (2014. ) Synergy, redundancy, and multivariate information measures: an experimentalist's perspective.Journal of computational neuroscience, , 36 (2 ) ,119-40 More Information

Beggs, John M; Timme, Nicholas (2012. ) Being critical of criticality in the brain.Frontiers in physiology, , 3 ,163 More Information

Timme, Nicholas; Morrison, Andrew (2009. ) The mode shapes of a tennis racket and the effects of vibration dampers on those mode shapes.The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, , 125 (6 ) ,3650-56 More Information

Bryant, Kathleen G; Swygart, David; Yin, Yuexi; Bauer, Meredith R; Morningstar, Mitchell D; Timme, Nicholas M; Barnett, William H; McGonigle, Colleen E; Engleman, Eric A; Sheets, Patrick L; Lapish, Christopher C (2025. ) Acute alcohol in prefrontal cortex is characterized by enhanced inhibition that transitions to excitation.iScience, , 28 (7 ) ,112920 More Information