What mechanisms support social memory? How does structural plasticity shape social memory circuit function? How are these mechanisms disrupted in disease?

To answer these questions, our lab uses a variety of pharmacologic, transgenic, viral, and environmental manipulations combined with histology, in vivo electrophysiology, and behavioral analyses. We focus on the hippocampus, a brain region that not only plays an important role in social memory, but also undergoes substantial plasticity into adulthood. Ongoing projects examine how cellular and extracellular mechanisms regulate hippocampal plasticity and social memory, with the long-term goal of understanding how these components interact.