Neural Mechanisms
Our goal is to uncover the neuronal mechanisms within the brain that flexibly link sensory processing, internal state, and the patterning of behavior, to enable individuals to interact with each other in natural settings. To achieve our goal, we use a novel mix of highly quantitative assays of animal behavior, computational modeling, genetic and neural circuit manipulations, circuit tracing, and neural physiology in behaving animals. We study both how the nervous system generates and patterns acoustic signals, in addition to how acoustic signals are processed and interpreted to drive responsive behaviors. We are particularly interested in how the wiring diagram of the brain (its connectome) sets limits on internal brain states and sensorimotor dynamics, and how different context-dependent behaviors (like social communication) are coordinated at brain-scale.