Michael Wallace

Assistant Professor, Anatomy and Neurobiology

Research Interests

The Wallace lab studies how specific circuits within the basal ganglia (BG) guide motivated behaviors, control goal-directed motor actions, and how these circuits are affected in disease. The lab has expertise in electrophysiology, molecular biology, genetics, in vivo optogenetics, computer programming, and in behavioral and imaging techniques. We apply these techniques and knowledge of BG function to determine the synaptic and circuit underpinnings of behavior.
Our long-term goal is to understand how activity in the BG guide motivated behaviors and control motor action, as well as how perturbation of these processes contribute to human disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and drug addiction.