How sensory processing is occurring into the brain and how to relate behavior to neuronal activities are key questions in neuroscience.
We propose to study the mechanisms controlling sensory perception and how different senses may interact together.
We would like to understand how sensory stimuli are coded by brain networks and how these representations may be influenced by experience, other sensory senses or modulatory brain centers.
In order to address these general questions, we propose to study chemical senses as model sensory systems.
Olfactory and gustatory systems are central to the behavior of rodents (animal models that we study), are highly plastic and largely modulated by the neuromodulatory brain centers.
Furthermore they are probably the senses most naturally interacting together in behaving animaIs especially during feeding behavior.
We propose to use a combination of genetic, electrophysiological, imaging and behavioral methods to study how flavor information is processed in the central nervous system as it moves from the periphery to higher areas of the brain.