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Neural mechanisms underlying the emergence of rhythmic and stereotyped vocalizations in juvenile songbirds
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016)
Complex motor behaviors in humans, such as speech, are not innate, but instead are learned. How does the brain construct neural circuits that generate these motor behaviors during learning? To understand the neural mechanisms ...
Lateral hypothalamic control of motivated behaviors through the midbrain dopamine system
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016)
The lateral hypothalamus and ventral tegmental area are two brain regions that have long been known to be involved in processing reward and the control of feeding behaviors. We continue work in this area by identifying the ...
Valence encoding and memory in the amygdala
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2020)
Assignment of valence, positive or negative, to external stimuli is essential to the formation of emotional responses. Information pertaining to an animal's emotional state serve as critical components of memories. However, ...
Interrogation and control of mammalian transcription
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016)
Gene expression is dynamic in living systems, enabling environmental adaptation and homeostasis. Transcript levels may change temporarily during distinct phases of biological processes, while longer lasting modifications ...
Investigating toxicity in Drosophila models of Huntington's Disease and Huntington's Disease-Like 2
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016)
The polyglutamine diseases are the most common form of inherited neurodegenerative disorders. Each of the polyglutamine diseases stems from the same underlying cause: a CAG expansion mutation in the coding region of a gene. ...
Visual cortical plasticity : the role of parvalbumin expressing inhibitory neurons and abnormalities in models of neurodevelopmental disorders
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016)
The roles played by cortical inhibitory neurons in experience-dependent plasticity and learning are not well understood. Here we evaluate the participation of parvalbumin-expressing (PV+) GABAergic neurons in two forms of ...
Functional organization of the human superior temporal sulcus
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016)
As we observe and listen to other people, we interpret their actions in terms of a rich causal structure, driven by underlying mental states and dispositional traits. The ability to rapidly extract abstract social information ...
The amygdala in value-guided decision making
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017)
The amygdala is a structure well known for its role in fear and reward learning, but how these mechanisms are used for decision-making is not well understood. Decision-making involves the rapid updating of cue associations ...
Developing a Theory of Mind : insights from FMRI studies of children
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018)
Social cognitive abilities undergo drastic changes throughout childhood. Theory of mind (ToM), the ability to reason about the mental states of others, is a core social cognitive ability that is crucial for navigating the ...
The mechanisms of reliable coding in mouse visual cortex
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016)
As we interact with the environment, our senses are constantly bombarded with information. Neurons in the visual cortex have to transform these complex inputs into robust and parsimonious neural codes that effectively guide ...