The world around us is constantly changing and incessantly presenting new challenges. The capability of adapting to changing environmental conditions may determine our chances of survival and thus represents an advantageous attribute. A series of subcortical structures located in the midbrain and basal ganglia react to such changes and shape our behavioral strategies to maximize our adaptation and our chances of success.

Our lab aims to understand the principles of operation of neurons in the midbrain and basal ganglia that support adaptive behavior during decision-making and action-selection, at the cellular, circuit and behavioral levels. We study how the connectivity of inhibitory, excitatory and neuromodulatory (e.g. acetylcholine and dopamine) neurons in the midbrain sculpts the activity of basal ganglia circuits, how midbrain and basal ganglia neurons integrate incoming information to support flexible behavior, and ultimately how the output of these systems generate a motor response. For this purpose, we use a variety of techniques that include ultrastructural anatomy, neuronal tracing, in vitro slice recordings, in vivo juxtacellular recordings, in vivo high-density electrophysiological recordings, optogenetics, chemogenetics, calcium imaging and a battery of behavioral tasks.