Jesse Rissman, Ph.D.
Faculty Member
Professor
Department of Psychology
Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences
University of California, Los Angeles
8534 Pritzker Hall
Box 951563
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Biography
Jesse Rissman joined the UCLA faculty in 2011 and holds appointments in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences. He earned his ScB in Cognitive Neuroscience from Brown University, his PhD in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University. His research investigates how goal-directed attention shapes memory processes across short and long timescales. Using a combination of functional MRI, transcranial brain stimulation, diffusion tensor imaging, and eye-tracking, his lab examines the neural mechanisms underlying memory formation, maintenance, and retrieval.
Dr. Rissman develops and applies advanced neuroimaging methods, using multi-voxel pattern analysis to decode mental representations and connectivity modeling techniques—both functional and structural—to examine interactions between brain regions that support memory and attentional control. His work has illuminated how prefrontal control systems prioritize relevant information and suppress distractions, and how these dynamic processes influence what is remembered. He often employs naturalistic paradigms, such as immersive virtual reality and wearable cameras, to study autobiographical memory and cognition in real-world settings. In addition to characterizing memory mechanisms in healthy individuals, his research extends to aging and clinical populations, with the goal of understanding how memory and cognitive control processes are altered in these groups.
Publications
A selected list of publications:
Kadlec, J., Walsh, C.R., Sade, U., Amir, A., Rissman, J., and Ramot, M. (2024). A measure of reliability convergence to select and optimize cognitive tasks for individual differences research. Communications Psychology, 2(1), 64.
Rissman, J. and Murphy, E.R. (2024) Brain-based Memory Detection and the New Science of Mind Reading. In Kahana, M.J. & Wagner, A.D. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Human Memory (pp. 2329-2350). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Walsh, C.R. and Rissman, J. (2023). Behavioral representational similarity analysis reveals how episodic learning is influenced by and reshapes semantic memory. Nature Communications, 14, 7548.
Han, L.T., Cohen, M.S., He, L.K., Green, L.M., Knowlton, B.J., Castel, A.D, and Rissman, J. (2023) Establishing a causal role for left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in value-directed memory encoding with high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation. Neuropsychologia, 181, 108489.
Essoe, J. K. Y., Reggente, N., Ohno, A. A., Baek, Y. H., Dell’italia, J., and Rissman, J. (2022). Enhancing learning and retention with distinctive virtual reality environments and mental context reinstatement. npj Science of Learning, 7, 31.
Murray, C.A., Tarlow, M., Rissman, J., and Shams, L. (2022). Multisensory encoding of names via name tags facilitates remembering. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 36(6), 1277-1291.
Cherkaoui, M., Rissman, J., Hampson, M., and Lau, H.C. (2021) Ethical considerations for fMRI neurofeedback. In Hampson, M. (Ed.), FMRI Neurofeedback, Elsevier.
Lenartowicz, A., Truong, H., Enriquez, K.D., Webster, J., Pochon, J.B., Rissman, J., Bearden, C.E., Loo, S.K., and Bilder, R.M. (2021). Neurocognitive subprocesses of working memory performance. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 21(6), 1130-1152.
Murphy, E.R. and Rissman, J. (2020). Evidence of Memory from Brain Data. Journal of Law and the Biosciences, lsaa078, 1-58.
Reggente, N., Essoe, J.K-Y., Baek, H.Y-J., and Rissman, J. (2020). The Method of Loci in virtual reality: Explicit binding of objects to spatial contexts enhances subsequent memory recall. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 4, 12-30.
Westphal Andrew J, Chow Tiffany E, Ngoy Corey, Zuo Xiaoye, Liao Vivian, Storozuk Laryssa A, Peters Megan A K, Wu Allan D, Rissman Jesse Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to the Left Rostrolateral Prefrontal Cortex Selectively Improves Source Memory Retrieval Journal of cognitive neuroscience, 2019; 31(9): 1380-1391.
Hennessee Joseph P, Reggente Nicco, Cohen Michael S, Rissman Jesse, Castel Alan D, Knowlton Barbara J White matter integrity in brain structures supporting semantic processing is associated with value-directed remembering in older adults Neuropsychologia, 2019; 129(9): 246-254.
Bainbridge Wilma A, Rissman Jesse Dissociating neural markers of stimulus memorability and subjective recognition during episodic retrieval Scientific reports, 2018; 8(1): 8679.