Mark Howe

Assistant Professor; Neural mechanisms of learning and motivation

  • Title Assistant Professor; Neural mechanisms of learning and motivation

The goal of my laboratory is to identify neural circuit principles responsible for adaptively motivating, selecting, and learning actions in changing environments. We focus on the basal ganglia, a set of brain regions implicated in regulating motor and cognitive functions on multiple timescales. We employ a range of techniques including two-photon microscopy, fiber photometry, and electrophysiology in behaving mice as they perform tasks in virtual environments. These approaches enable us to investigate neural computations at multiple spatial scales, from large scale networks to subcellular compartments of single neurons. Basic principles derived from these studies can be applied to better understand neural disorders of the basal ganglia such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s Disease.

View all profiles