Nikolay Kukushkin

Clinical Associate Professor of Life Science

Nikolay Kukushkin is a clinical associate professor of life science at Liberal Studies and a research fellow at the Center for Neural Science, NYU. He holds a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Oxford and a bachelor's degree in biology from St. Petersburg State University. His research deals with the role of time patterns in memory formation. His academic work has been published in Nature Communications, Nature Medicine, Neuron, and PNAS among others. He is the author of a bestselling, award-winning book One Hand Clapping: Unraveling The Mystery of the Human Mind.

Credit: Nikolay Kukushkin

A black and white portrait of a person smiling, wearing a light-colored shirt, with a neutral background.

A close-up of a spotted nudibranch with translucent, pointed cerata on a brown underwater branch against a black background, inviting reflection on the intricate nature of consciousness in marine life.

Books

What sea slugs can teach us about the nature of consciousness

In this excerpt from “One Hand Clapping,” Nikolay Kukushkin makes the case that neurons reveal how memory, meaning, and even consciousness emerge from the same biological roots in humans, sea slugs, and beyond.

A sea slug with a mottled appearance glides gracefully across the brown seaweed, its vibrant colors etching an unforgettable memory in the underwater landscape.

Neuropsych

What food comas in sea slugs teach us about memory

Memory takes effort, and our brains know it.