Project description
Every day, we have to make sense of sensory stimuli in the world around us. We can identify things that are rewarding or dangerous based on our learned experience, and then use this information to choose the correct behavior – a process critical for survival. A major goal of our lab is to uncover the neural circuits that represent rewards and threats in the brain and understand how these circuits act to direct motivated behavior. Understanding the neural circuits that mediate learning and motivated behavior is also of critical importance to mental health. Responses to environmental stimuli are severely disrupted in neurological disorders such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, leading to damaging behavioral outcomes. In order to develop effective treatments for these disorders, we must first identify the fundamental mechanisms underlying learning and valence in the brain. This project involves using cutting-edge techniques like in vivo calcium imaging to characterize these mechanisms during behavioral trials.
Volunteer, This is a work-study research position, Prepare a UROP proposal, Write an Honors Thesis or Senior Thesis, Earn independent study credit.