RESEARCH
AREAS OF RESEARCH
We develop behavioral tasks that model and retain the principles of our daily sensory perception processes. Then we use electrical, optical, and pharmacological techniques to monitor and manipulate the activity of synapses, neurons, and networks to identify the neural circuit elements involved in sound processing and perception. This approach allows us to understand how sound is processed under different internal states and contexts.
Understanding the neural basis of perception
The long-term goal of our research is to identify the neuronal circuits and neuronal codes that support hearing and perception. Auditory perception is shaped by the interaction of sensory inputs with our experiences, emotions, and cognitive states. Decades of research have characterized how neuronal response properties to basic sounds, such as pure tones or sweeps, are transformed in the auditory pathway of passively listening subjects. Much less understood is how the brain creates a perceptual representation of sensory stimuli and how this representation changes in different internal states and contexts. We combine behavioral, imaging, electrophysiological, optogenetic, and computational approaches to understand the connection between the activity of single cells, neural networks, perception and behavior.
The role of internal state in perception
Sometimes contexts are not external and do not necessarily have different physical characteristics; instead, they can be defined by our internal state. For example, hearing the sound of a crying child may take on a different meaning according to our internal state. In a normative internal state, we might pick up the crying child and soothe him, realizing that this is an everyday occurrence. In an aversive internal state, such as stress or depression, the same sound may cause a dramatically different reaction, such as intense anxiety and despair. By combining in-vivo electrophysiology, optogenetics, rodent behavior, and in-vivo two-photon imaging, we aim to understand how internal state shapes how auditory information is represented and processed in health and disease.