Research Projects

Overview
We are interested in the neural mechanisms that underlie behavioral choice. Animals are exposed to a constant stream of information from their environment and they must be able to process all of this information and correctly choose how to respond to it. The current conditions an animal faces, as well as its past experiences, can both impact how an animal will respond to a specific stimulus. We use an insect, the house cricket Acheta domesticus, as our model organism because its brain has fewer neurons than a vertebrate, because many of these neurons are individually identifiable from animal to animal, and because its behaviors are relatively simple and stereotyped. We use a wide variety of experimental approaches and techniques in our laboratory including behavioral assays, single cell electrophysiology, high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), immunocytochemistry, western blot analysis and confocal microscopy. Research projects we are currently pursuing include:

	Changes in escape behaviors during mating and fighting
	Biogenic amines and motivational behavior
	Mapping CNS pathways responsible for aggression and social rank
	Neurogenesis and social rank memory formation