In my laboratory, we are interested in understanding how organisms recognize patterns and form specific memories. We have focused our attention on the detection and recognition of pheromones by the neurons in the mouse vomeronasal system. In this system, the tasks of recognition and memory appear to be performed with relatively simple neural circuitry, facilitating our efforts to understand these processes at the neural level.

We study this system over a wide range of scales, from the first steps of pheromone/receptor signal transduction up to behavioral tests which probe the neural computations used to recognize blends of compounds. A particular specialty of the lab is in recording and analyzing the simultaneous activity of large populations of neurons.