Development of the nervous system | Function of the nervous system

Development of the nervous system

Research summary
We use the clinically important dopamine neurons as a model cell type and the anterior fore- and mid- brain as a model organ to ask how vertebrate neural development may be regulated: 1) How do multi-potent progenitor cells give rise to distinct cell types? 2) Once specified, how do these neurons undergo further differentiation and become assembled into functional neural circuits? --> Development of the nervous system <--

Function of the nervous system

Research summary
How do differentiated cells in the nervous system become assembled into functional neural circuits?  While significant advancements have been made in understanding the sensory input systems and motor output systems, the internal processing of sensory signals and its transmission to the output systems remains poorly understood.  Such knowledge is critical for our understanding of complex behaviors, including reward- and emotion-related behaviors.  Our interests in the brain monoamine (dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin) systems have naturally led us to use these neurons as an entry point to unravel neural circuits underlying reward- and emotion-related behaviors. These studies shall potentially provide important insights into the function of the nervous system in normal as well as in diseased states, including addiction, anxiety and depression, autism, and Parkinson’s disease. --> Function of the nervous system <--