We are interested in how brain circuits store, express and use memories
We use rodent models and focus on brain areas in the medial temporal lobe that are known to be critical for spatial and episodic memory. As animals learn novel associations or perform a memory-guided task, we monitor the communication between large numbers of neurons using arrays of wires (‘tetrodes’) or specially designed neural probes.
This allows us to study how populations represent features in the world and to analyze the expression and use of memories during wakefulness or sleep. Via selective (opto)genetic or pharmacological techniques, we perturb specific brain areas or cell types to tease apart their role in memory processing. Finally, by reading out (‘decoding’) memories in real-time using a brain-machine interface, we may selectively alter and control their effect during behavior.
Kloosterman Lab 