Lab for Neural Circuits and Olfactory Perception
One of the major goals of neuroscience research is to understand how neural circuits encode information and support behavior, learning and memory. To answer this question requires us to relate neural activity to perception. Using the olfactory system of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and a multidisciplinary approach which includes in vivo electrophysiology and functional imaging, optogenetics, thermogenetics and behavior experiments, we probe the neuronal codes underlying olfaction, manipulate them and examine the effects these manipulations have on behavior. In addition, we use the same techniques to understand the molecular basis of brain disorders and its effects on neural circuits’ connectivity and activity.