Research Overview

The morphological features and local ion channel mechanisms in different cellular compartments strongly influence how neurons integrate their inputs. We combine brain slice electrophysiology, two-photon imaging, optogenetics, and computational modeling to investigate the rules and mechanisms supporting different forms of neuronal input-output processing in the mammalian cortex

How do biophysical mechanisms influence circuit-level computation during behavior and learning? To address this question, we combine two-photon imaging, as well as patch clamp and multi-unit electrophysiological recording techniques and optogenetics with novel rodent behavioral paradigms to measure the activity of cortical neuron populations and their respective subcellular compartments. This allows us to evaluate the engagement of synaptic and/or dendritic mechanisms as a function of circuit dynamics during behavior. These experiments are supported by parallel theory and computational modeling efforts.

Changes in the biophysical properties of individual neurons underpin learning and memory, but how these changes are produced and regulated, and how they ultimately alter circuit computation to give rise to learning, are all poorly understood. We use a range of techniques to explore these issues (e.g. expansion microscopy, protein staining, electrophysiology, and imaging) to try to link the expression patterns of synaptic proteins with the functional properties of cortical synapses, cells, and circuits during behavior.

How do mammalian species differ in the biophysical properties of their neurons and cortical computations in vivo? Are there evolutionary rules that govern cortical organization and dynamics across species? How similar is human cortex to other mammalian cortices? To address these questions, we directly compare multiple mammalian cortices across scales, from ion channels to dynamics during behavior, using the techniques listed above. This work aims to define both conserved foundational principles of cortical organization as well as species-specific adaptations that may provide new insight into mammalian evolution as well as what makes us uniquely human.