Event Details:
Stanford Neurosciences Institute Seminar Series Presents
Neural circuits underlying positive & negative valence
Kay Tye, Ph.D
Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT
Host: Lisa Giocomo
Abstract
The Tye Lab is interested in understanding how neural circuits important for driving positive and negative motivational valence (seeking pleasure or avoiding punishment) are anatomically, genetically and functionally arranged. We study the neural mechanisms that underlie a wide range of behaviors ranging from learned to innate, including social, feeding, reward-seeking and anxiety-related behaviors. How are these circuits interconnected with one another, and how are competing mechanisms orchestrated on a neural population level? We employ optogenetic, electrophysiological, electrochemical, pharmacological and imaging approaches to probe these circuits during behavior.