My group is interested in understanding how the brain processes information in order to make sense of the external world. We use the olfactory system of mice as a model system, focusing in particular on the primary olfactory cortex. Olfaction is a primitive sense and the structure of the primary olfactory cortex is much simpler than that of other sensory cortices, bringing technical advantages. Also, because the primary olfactory cortex is a primitive area that has persisted through evolution, we anticipate that it will contain canonical neural circuits that are found in many other brain regions. Finally, the primary olfactory cortex is unusually susceptible to epilepsy. Its study is likely to shed light on how epileptic seizures initiate and propagate.
