Our lab is broadly interested in neural circuit development and how disease or injury affects circuit structure and function. Changes in auditory circuits often underlie hearing disorders, which are among the most common human sensory defects. In addition to its clinical relevance, the auditory system has developed highly specialized cell types and synapses in precise tonotopic organizations to transmit sound information quickly and accurately, making it an ideal system to study neural circuit development. Moreover, auditory sensitivity and perception can be assessed by well-established physiological tests, allowing us to correlate cellular or molecular perturbations to behavioral changes. We use mouse genetics, imaging and physiological approaches to study how auditory circuits assemble, with an emphasis on identifying the cellular and molecular basis of tonotopic map formation and how auditory circuits develop structurally and functionally unique synapses.
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