Mental illnesses such as anxiety disorder are very common but have always been challenging to study because most symptoms are subjective, qualitative, and can vary widely across different individuals.  The brain is also more complex than many other organs because different regions of the brain can serve very different functions.  Our goal is to identify objective neurophysiologic patterns that underlie subjective responses to threats and other stimuli.  We are also interested in connecting behavior with body physiology such as changes in respiration.  We use mouse models and implanted electrodes to measure and analyze field potential and individual neuron activity during responses to different stimuli.  Parallel studies in human subjects are also underway in collaboration with the neurosurgery department.

Mentee:  Anand Subramaniam