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The long-term goal of the Jeanne Lab is to understand how higher-order neural functions—such as sensory perception, memory, and decision making—arise from elementary circuit mechanisms. We believe that we can achieve this by studying neural computation, which provides a common language to link circuit mechanisms to higher-order function.

 

Our mission is therefore

  • To understand how common biophysical, cellular, and circuit motifs implement relevant computations.

  • To elucidate the higher-order neural functions and behavior enabled by these computations.

 

Our approach is to study neural computation in the fruit fly. We use the fly because their mini-brains are simpler to understand, yet nonetheless capable of performing a suite of sophisticated neural and behavioral functions.

 

Specific questions of interest include

  • How does the brain combine information from distinct sensory channels? How does the brain transform this information into a format more useful for behavior?

  • How does the brain combine information over time? Neurons operate on timescales faster than many behaviors. How do neural circuits bridge this gap in timescale?

  • How do ensembles of neurons interact to control behavioral choices?

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