The way we interpret and respond to our environment, recall memories, and regulate our emotions, is all achieved through information processing in different brain circuits, in an intricate and complex interaction that can be challenged by brain disorders. In other words, symptoms associated with brain disorders are the reflex of the perturbation of affected neural circuits. Even the loss of just one specific group of neurons can give rise to complex changes in different brain circuits, leading to different types of symptoms.

Our group uses a systems approach to study the dysfunction of brain circuits, with a focus on movement disorders, such as dystonia and Parkinson’s disease.

Working in parallel with clinical populations and animal models we are exploring outstanding questions, using a combination of detailed behavior analysis, brain imaging, electrophysiology, and optogenetics to gain mechanistic insight into how symptoms emerge from disordered motor control circuits.