Synthesis of optical, physiological, and computational methods in neuromodulation

We will work towards the synthesis of empirical and theoretical analysis of neuromodulation impinging on DA neurons by accomplishing the following aims: 1. Use novel molecular, genetic, and optical approaches to map the structure and define the physiological impact of neuromodulatiory inputs to DA neurons 2. Determine activity and information coding consequences of manipulating specific neuromodulatory projections to DA neurons, using 2-photon imaging of genetically encoded calcium and voltage sensitive proteins