Yang Yang, PhDAssistant Professor

Memory makes us who we are. The neural basis of learning and memory has always been a major research topic in neuroscience. Despite lack of neurogenesis, adult neocortex constantly goes through learning-induced synaptic remodeling, providing a mechanism for learning throughout life. In my lab, we use fear conditioning and reinforcement learning as the behavioral model, combine two-photon imaging with two-photon holographic optogenetic stimulation and genetic manipulations, to investigate neural circuit dynamics and plasticity underlying learning and memory, and how they are affected by neural modulatory systems. Eventually, we hope to understand how psychiatric disorders disrupt neural circuits and affect learning ability.