Our research seeks to uncover how brain circuits transform sensory context into adaptive actions, and how psychiatric interventions reshape these processes. We focus on basal ganglia networks, which sit at the intersection of sensory, motor, and motivational signals—the very domains disrupted in psychiatric illness.

Using rodent models, we combine in vivo electrophysiology, two-photon imaging, and neuromodulator release assays to define how dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine shape neural activity at the level of cells, synapses, and networks. We then ask how interventions—ranging from exercise to SSRIs, ketamine, and psychedelics—alter these circuit dynamics.

By linking invasive circuit measurements to noninvasive readouts like EEG and peripheral physiology, our long-term goal is to develop biomarkers that guide precision dosing and closed-loop interventions in psychiatry.