Brain function emerges from the coordinated activity of large numbers of neurons. Traditional measurement approaches either probe individual neurons with high resolution (e.g. via patch clamp recordings), or ensembles of neurons with low resolution (e.g. via calcium imaging).  We have developed tools for high-resolution genetically targeted voltage imaging of neural populations in awake, behaving animals. We combine high-resolution voltage imaging with targeted optogenetic perturbations to reveal the basic mechanisms by which neural circuits transform inputs to outputs. Current research is focused on control of attention in cortical Layer 1 and on mechanisms of plasticity in the hippocampus.

The lab also works on developing new tools for probing the brain. We are developing techniques to dramatically increase the number of neurons that can be recorded simultaneously; to create all-optical tools for neural circuit mapping in vivo; and to map the spatial structures of memories.  

Lab members come from backgrounds in neuroscience, physics, chemistry and molecular and cellular biology.