Sergei Gepshtein

Prof. Dr. Sergei Gepshtein studies human perception and action. His work combines behavioral, computational, and theoretical methods, spanning sensory psychophysics, systems neuroscience, and computational neuroscience. His main interests are sensory perception, sequential decision-making, movement, and concepts of space.

As Principal Investigator, he has led U.S. and international grants totaling US$6.8M. His funders include the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Kavli Foundation, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the Japan National Institutes of Natural Sciences, the Swartz Foundation for Theoretical Neuroscience, among others.

He has held faculty appointments and directed research centers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, the University of Southern California, and the University of California San Diego. His current lines of research include theoretical and empirical studies of spatially distributed cortical computation, and the development of neuromorphic "transneuron" devices that emulate activity across cortical areas. A separate line examines the horizon as a common structure in architecture and science: the moving edge that defines what is currently within reach of perception or understanding. In science education and policy, he focuses on integrating concepts and methods of neuroscience into the design of buildings and cities. As President of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture, he is establishing an international "network of networks" connecting investigators in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.

Sergei Gepshtein’s Selected Publications – a list of thirty (April 2026)

• Proietti, T., & Gepshtein, S. (2025). Architectural proportion in three dimensions: an empirical study. Architectural Science Review, 1-15. doi: 10.1080/00038628.2025.2523264

• Midya, R., Pawar, A. S., Pattnaik, D. P., Mooshagian, E., Borisov, P., ... & Savel’ev, S. E. (2025). Artificial transneurons emulate neuronal activity in different areas of brain cortex. Nature Communications, 16(1), 7289, 1-15.

• Gepshtein, S., & Malpas, J. (2025). Horizons and thresholds: boundary and representation in architecture and science. Architectural Science Review, 68(5), 343-354.

• Gepshtein S, Pawar AS, Kwon S, Savel'ev S & Albright TD (2022). Spatially distributed computation in cortical circuits. Science Advances 8 (16), 1-19.

• Gepshtein S (2022). Perceptual space as a well of possibilities. In Affordances in Everyday Life: A Multidisciplinary Collection of Essays. Djebbara Z (Ed.) Springer/Nature. doi 10.1007/978-3-031-08629-8

• Proietti T & Gepshtein S (2021). Architectural proportion from an empirical standpoint. Journal of Interior Design, 47 (1), 11-29.

• Gepshtein S, Wang Y, He F, Diep D & Albright TD (2020). A perceptual scaling approach to eyewitness identification. Nature Communications, 11, Article number: 3380.

• Gepshtein S (2020). Species of space. Architectural Design, 90 (6), 36-41. doi: 10.1002/ad.2629

• Pawar AS, Gepshtein S, Savel'ev S & Albright TD (2019). Mechanisms of spatiotemporal selectivity in cortical area MT. Neuron, 101 (3), 514-527 

• Gepshtein S & Snider J (2019). Neuroscience for architecture: The evolving science of perceptual meaning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 116 (29), 4404-14406.

• Zharikova A, Gepshtein S & van Leeuwen C (2017). Paradoxical perception of object identity in visual motion. Vision Research, 136, 1-14.

• Gepshtein S & Albright TD (2017). Adaptive optimization of visual sensitivity. Journal of the Indian Institute of Science, 97 (4), 423-434.

• Nikolaev A, Gepshtein S & van Leeuwen C (2016). Intermittent regime of brain activity at the early, bias-guided stage of perceptual learning. Journal of Vision, 16(14), 11. 

• Snider J, Lee D, Poizner H & Gepshtein S (2015). Prospective optimization with limited resources. PLoS Computational Biology, 11 (9): e1004501.

• Gepshtein S, Li X, Snider J, Plank M, Lee D & Poizner H (2014). Dopamine function and the efficiency of human movement. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 26 (3), 645-657.

• Sejnowski TJ, Poizner H, Lynch G, Gepshtein S & Greenspan RJ (2014). Prospective optimization. Proceedings of the IEEE, 102 (5), 799-811.

• Gepshtein S, Lesmes LA & Albright TD (2013). Sensory adaptation as optimal resource allocation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 110 (11), 4368-4373.

• Kubovy M, Epstein W & Gepshtein S (2013). Visual perception: Theoretical and methodological foundations. In Healy AF & Proctor RW (Eds), Experimental Psychology, Second edition, 85-119, Volume 4 in Weiner IB (Editor-in-Chief) Handbook of Psychology. John Wiley & Sons, New York, USA.

• Jurica P, Gepshtein S, Tyukin I & van Leeuwen C (2013). Sensory optimization by stochastic tuning. Psychological Review, 120 (4), 798-816.

• Wagemans J, Feldman J, Gepshtein S, Kimchi R, Pomerantz JR, et al (2012). A century of Gestalt psychology in visual perception. Conceptual and theoretical foundations. Psychological Bulletin, 138 (6), 1218-1252.

• Vidal-Naquet M & Gepshtein S (2012). Spatially invariant computations in stereoscopic vision. Frontiers of Computational Neuroscience, 6:47, 1-13.

• Gepshtein S (2010). Two psychologies of perception and the prospect of their synthesis. Philosophical Psychology, 23 (2), 217-281.

• Nikolaev AR, Gepshtein S, Gong P & van Leeuwen C (2009). Duration of coherence intervals in electrical brain activity in perceptual organization. Cerebral Cortex, 20 (2), 365-382.

• Gepshtein S & Kubovy M (2007). The lawful perception of apparent motion. Journal of Vision, 7 (8):9, 1-15.

• Gepshtein S, Tyukin I & Kubovy M (2007). The economics of motion perception and invariants of visual sensitivity. Journal of Vision, 7 (8):8, 1-18.

• Gepshtein S, Seydell A & Trommershäuser J (2007). Optimality of human movement under natural variations of visual-motor uncertainty. Journal of Vision, 7 (5):13, 1-18.

• Trommershäuser J, Gepshtein S, Maloney LT, Landy MS & Banks MS (2005). Optimal compensation for changes in task relevant movement variability. Journal of Neuroscience, 25 (31), 7169-7178.

• Banks MS, Gepshtein S & Landy MS (2004). Why is spatial stereoresolution so low? Journal of Neuroscience, 24 (9), 2077-2089.

• Gepshtein S & Banks MS (2003). Viewing geometry determines how vision and touch combine in size perception. Current Biology, 13 (6), 483-488.

• Gepshtein S & Kubovy M (2000). The emergence of visual objects in space-time. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 97 (14), 8186-8191.