Research Interests
Is it possible to link neuronal activity to functional architectures supporting behavior? A growing toolbox of experimental and analysis methods allows to start addressing these questions in awake or even freely behaving animal models. We can take advantage of optical and electrical approaches to simultaneously record and modulate the activity in large portions of the brain or in a target circuit down to single cell resolution during a sensory experience or a behavior task. From the analysis of these datasets, we can distill mathematical models of the circuit, testable directly on a living preparation, to reconstruct the role of the different circuit components on the activity and on the behavior recorded. With the development of this kind of investigation framework, my research aims to: 1. gain basic insights on the mechanistic organization of the brain circuits involved in behavior control and sensorimotor transformations; 2. characterize altered network dynamics associated with pathological conditions.