Understanding the functional organization of the nervous system, its capacity to produce perception, thought, language, memory, emotion, and action, remains the ultimate challenge for biology. Meeting this challenge requires forging links between different levels of analysis — genetic, molecular, cellular, circuit, and behavioral — and developing new technologies that make cutting edge scientific discoveries possible.
Each Lab at MPFI focuses on one research area
Neuronal Control of Locomotion
The Bidaye lab studies the neural circuit logic of these locomotor decisions using the fruit-fly (Drosophila melanogaster) as a model system.
Bidaye Lab Disorders of neural circuit function
Research in the Bolton Lab employs electrophysiological and imaging techniques to study alterations in circuit structure and function in mouse models of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Bolton Lab Functional architecture and development of cerebral cortex
Research in the Fitzpatrick Lab utilizes state-of-the-art in vivo imaging techniques to probe the functional synaptic architecture of circuits in primary visual cortex.
Fitzpatrick Lab Neural dynamics and cognitive functions
The main goal of Inagaki lab is to develop a cellular and network-level understanding of how internal states, such as internal drives and urgency, modify dynamics in the frontal cortex to influence cognitive functions.
Inagaki Lab Neuroenergetics
The Rangaraju Lab is interested in dissecting mitochondrial function and its optimization in neuronal compartments. They focus on the proteins that comprise and regulate mitochondria and the other energy supplies such as glycolysis and glial-neuronal networks in different neuronal compartments.
Rangaraju Lab Integrative Neural Circuits and Behavior
The Stern Lab studies how learning mechanisms and diverse environmental stimuli alter innate brain circuits to drive both adaptive and maladaptive behavioral outcomes.
Stern Lab Molecular Biotechnology for Neural Dynamics and Therapeutics
The Tian Lab develops cutting-edge optical and molecular tools to explore neural signaling in real time, advancing the understanding of neural dynamics, neuropsychiatric diseases, and informing targeted therapies.
Tian Lab Neuronal mechanisms of episodic memory
The Wang Lab integrates electrophysiological, imaging, and optogenetic approaches with computational modeling to reveal the circuit underpinnings of the sequential neuronal activity underlying our ability to remember, think, and plan.
Wang Lab Neuronal signal transduction
The Yasuda Lab is interested in the operation principles of signaling networks in dendritic spines. They have been developing techniques to image activity of various proteins in single dendritic spines using 2pFLIM in combination with new biosensors.
Yasuda Lab Support the research at MPFI
