Our lab seeks a mechanistic understanding of how cortical circuits integrate internal brain states with sensory processing to guide behavior. We study corticocortical communication at cellular resolution, focusing on how long-range and feedback pathways convey information about goals, actions, expectations, and context to sensory cortex. By identifying genetically defined neuronal populations and their circuit architectures, we aim to determine how distinct circuit motifs support dynamic interactions between sensation and action across brain states, and how these computations emerge during development and adapt with experience and demand.

We combine functional imaging and electrophysiology in behaving animals with optogenetics, genetic labeling, anatomical tracing, and computational analysis using multiple animal models. This integrative approach allows us to monitor and manipulate activity in defined circuits, link circuit dynamics to behavior, and characterize the computations performed by specific neuronal types and networks. Through this work, we aim to reveal how internal-state-dependent circuit mechanisms shape perception, action, and cortical plasticity. We extend this work to neurodevelopmental disorders, asking how disrupted circuit development and internal-state modulation lead to altered perception and behavior.