To adapt to an ever changing environment and reach specific goals, the brain must learn to choose between behavioral options. This processing is guided by neuromodulatory systems that report perceptual and motivational information over multiple timescales. Neuromodulators act through specialized receptors on anatomically distinct pathways to shape neuronal activity and synaptic plasticity. Yet how the temporal coding of neuromodulatory signals affects interactions between brain regions to implement computations is poorly understood.
We aim to uncover the molecular, cellular, and circuit mechanisms of these processes in cortical and subcortical circuits critical for voluntary movement (foraging), behavioral flexibility, and habits, and altered in Parkinson’s disease, using new tools to probe brain circuits at cellular and system level. We also explore how long noncoding RNAs contribute to these computations, and the potential of RNA based interventions for neurological diseases.