Overview
Our experiments seek to better understand the neural basis of sensorimotor transformation: how external sensory stimuli come to be associated with actions through learning and how this activity drives behavior. To do this, we utilize behaviors in which mice are required to associate sensory stimuli with motor actions. We focus on primary sensory and motor areas as well as the subcortical areas they project to, such as the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). Since dopamine is thought to play a central role in reward-based learning, we aim to understand how this neurotransmitter affects neural activity at the single cell and circuit level.
Approach
We identify animal behaviors that exemplify sensorimotor learning. All of our behaviors are designed to be conducive to studying with the techniques we employ, while retaining the fundamental features of the natural behavior of interest. We use electrophysiology and imaging approaches to study the synapses, single neurons, and neuronal networks involved in producing these behaviors. Optical and pharmacological approaches are then employed to perturb neural circuits thought to be important for varying aspects of the behavior, allowing us to infer causality.
Techniques
Our laboratory uses a combination of electrophysiology, imaging, and neuroanatomical approaches. We conduct whole cell recordings of single neurons, both in vitro and in vivo, to understand how the membrane potential (Vm) of neurons, representing both subthreshold and suprathreshold synaptic inputs, is affected by sensorimotor learning and dopaminergic modulation. Genetically encoded calcium indicators are used to image neuronal outputs in both freely moving and head fixed mice. A variety of anatomical tracing techniques are used to identify specific cell populations that project to brain areas of interest.
