Structure, Function and Development of Neural Circuits for Vision.

The primary focus of our research is to understand the relationship between circuit activity, behavior and perception. Ongoing research projects are focused on determining:

1. How sensory information is processed and transmitted within and between brain areas.
2. The cellular and circuit mechanisms that mediate the effects of spatial attention on visual processing
3. The role of corticothalamic feedback pathways for vision.
4. The relationship between neural activity and visual perception.

Using an arsenal of techniques that includes single and multielectrode recordings from anesthetized and behaving animals, optogenetic manipulation of neuronal activity, and fMRI, we are discovering how sensory information is established and encoded in brain activity, as well as the mechanisms employed by the brain for communicating information dynamically from one level to the next.