Humans of HBI

I study how learning works in the brain. I draw inspiration from machine learning algorithms that are mathematically analogous to biological learning processes. Then I try to understand how elements of these learning algorithms can be implemented in biological hardware. My current work investigates how a machine learning algorithm called temporal difference learning may be accomplished through the interactions of multiple neurobiological parts: dopamine neurons, the neurons they release dopamine onto, and the intricate neural circuitry connecting them. I draw inspiration from theory but am mainly an experimentalist, working with mice and using the remarkable tools we now have to both control and record specific signals in their brains.

I’m interested in how very young animals, such as infants, experience the world and behave in it. We tend to think of infants as passive or undeveloped because they can’t do fancy things that adults do, like have an intellectual conversation. Yet infants have very particular ways of engaging with the world that are important for their survival and growth, and that are different from adults. I explore the infant-specific brain mechanisms that underlie these behaviors, using mouse models and combining tools from molecular and systems neuroscience. In the future, I plan to extend this work and look even earlier in development, at prenatal behaviors.

My work focuses on understanding how early life sensory experiences, especially tactile experiences, influence animal development. My approach to tackling this question has been to use mouse genetic tools to manipulate neuronal activity in touch sensory neurons during development and then assess the effects on the maturation of those cells, as well as on other cells and tissues they interact with.

I study how the brain’s dopamine system helps control movement. Dopamine’s effects on movement are usually thought to happen gradually, based on whether a behavior is rewarding or not. However, our lab has found that dopamine can influence movement almost instantly, with effects that last for a while. My research focuses on understanding the cellular mechanisms behind these fast, yet persistent, effects.

As people get older, they are more likely to get Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things happening at the same time so it can be hard to tell what is causing their problems. I’m trying to develop methods to watch individual cells in the brain as they get sick, so we can distinguish which features of the disease cause problems and which features arise coincidentally.