Chandramouli Chandrasekaran

Director: Neural Dynamics of Cognition Lab

Research Interests

My lab conducts research to better understand how the brain processes complex uni and multisensory input and generates the appropriate action at the right time, a process called decision-making. To study the neural basis of decision-making, we use a combination of electrophysiological, behavioral, modeling, and computational techniques. Specifically, we use a ‘dynamical system’ theoretical framework combined with measurements of activity of populations of neurons using linear multi contact electrodes and utah arrays in animals performing decision-making tasks. By analyzing the average, single trial activity patterns, and differences in neuronal properties across the lamina of cortex, and modeling it with state-of-the-art recurrent neural network models we hope to understand the computational and circuit mechanisms by which the brain guides decisions. My research is guided by the ethos that understanding how decisions emerge in the brain will ultimately help us build better interventions for people with disabilities involving the nervous system. I expect my research career to aid translational efforts that use circuit level treatments and brain machine interfaces for patient populations.