Research

Synaptic- and circuit-level mechanisms of associative learning

How does the brain learn from experience and transform it into memory? We address this question using simple associative learning paradigms as tractable behavioral models. Our focus is on deep brain structures that underlie learning, where we aim to delineate learning-related plasticity across multiple scales—from synapse to circuit—and to test its causal roles through targeted perturbations. Our toolkit spans deep-brain two-photon imaging in behaving animals, ex vivo slice physiology, and comprehensive circuit tracing and manipulation.

Neuromodulators in flexible decision-making

How does the brain adapt its choices to an ever-changing world? We investigate the roles of neuromodulators—particularly the monoamines dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and acetylcholine—in flexible decision-making and working memory. Our approach integrates quantitative rodent behavior, in vivo optical measurements using genetically encoded sensors, large-scale electrophysiology, and reinforcement learning modeling. We are particularly interested in how neuromodulators modulate the population dynamics of neurons that receive neuromodulatory inputs through distinct receptor types.

Dissecting circuit mechanisms and dysfunctions of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Fear learning is an evolutionarily conserved function that promotes survival by driving adaptive avoidance. When showing maladaptation, however, persistent or generalised fear can severely impair life in modern societies. The amygdala—deep in the lateral forebrain—acts as a key hub for calibrating fear through coordinated interactions with prefrontal and hippocampal circuits. We dissect these networks with fine grained cell type resolution to reveal how the neural circuits set an optimal “fear set-point,” and how such regulations are impaired in anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our approach combines deep-brain imaging in freely behaving animals, ex vivo slice physiology, targeted circuit tracing and perturbation, pharmacology, and transcriptome analysis.