Michaela Klimova

I study how neural gain control mechanisms shape the intensity and character of visual experience. Gain control, which is the brain's ongoing regulation of neural signal strength, is one of the most fundamental operations in sensory processing, implemented through divisive normalization. My work examines how these mechanisms operate in early visual cortex, how they adapt under altered conditions like dim lighting and sleep, and how they relate to subjective aspects of experience, including mental imagery vividness and visual discomfort.

I use functional MRI, computational modeling, psychophysics, and eye-tracking to address these questions. I completed my PhD at Boston University with Sam Ling, followed by postdoctoral work with MiYoung Kwon at Northeastern and my current position in the Subjectivity Lab at Duke with Jorge Morales.

Publications

Cortex-specific inversion of visual responses during sleep.
Cicero, N. G., Klimova, M., Vinke, L., Ling, S., & Lewis, L. D. (2026). Nature Communications, 17, 7403.
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Spatial frequency tuning follows scale invariance in the human visual cortex.
Wiecek, E., Ramirez, L. D., Klimova, M., & Ling, S. (2026). Journal of Neuroscience, 46(4).
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Impact of rod-dominant mesopic conditions on spatial summation and surround suppression in early visual cortex.
Klimova, M., & Kwon, M. (2025). Journal of Neuroscience, 45(21).
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How does orientation-tuned normalization spread across the visual field?
Klimova, M., Bloem, I. M., & Ling, S. (2025). Journal of Neurophysiology, 133(2), 539–546.
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The effects of emotional arousal on pupil size depend on luminance.
Pan, J., Sun, X., Park, E., Kaufmann, M., Klimova, M., McGuire, J. T., & Ling, S. (2024). Scientific Reports, 14(1), 21895.
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Differential cortical and subcortical visual processing with eyes shut.
Cicero, N. G., Klimova, M., Lewis, L. D., & Ling, S. (2024). Journal of Neurophysiology, 132(1), 54–60.
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Attention preserves the selectivity of feature-tuned normalization.
Klimova, M., Bloem, I. M., & Ling, S. (2023). Journal of Neurophysiology, 130(4), 990–998.
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Davida reorients intermediate visual processing.
Ling, S., & Klimova, M. (2022). Cognitive Neuropsychology, 39(1–2), 88–91.
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Arousal-based pupil modulation is dictated by luminance.
Pan, J., Klimova, M., McGuire, J. T., & Ling, S. (2022). Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1390.
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The specificity of orientation-tuned normalization within human early visual cortex.
Klimova, M., Bloem, I. M., & Ling, S. (2021). Journal of Neurophysiology, 126(5), 1536–1546.
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Grouping by feature of cross-modal flankers in temporal ventriloquism.
Klimova, M., Nishida, S. Y., & Roseboom, W. (2017). Scientific Reports, 7(1), 7615.
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Penaloza, B., Klimova, M., & Kwon, M. (in prep). How dim light, crowding, and aging jointly constrain functional field of view.

CV

Download CV (PDF)