Vijay Mohan K. Namboodiri, Ph.D.

Research

My lab will explore the neural mechanisms that guide learning. Countless studies have examined how animals learn the relationships between cause and effect—a phenomenon dubbed associative learning. The current consensus is that animals continuously predict what will happen in the future, and that deviation from their predictions triggers the release of dopamine—a neurochemical “surprise” that activates the brain’s reward circuits. However, my lab recently uncovered evidence suggesting that associative learning may work in reverse: A meaningful experience releases dopamine and prompts an animal to think back to what might have caused it. Now, using state-of-the-art techniques in single-cell imaging, computational modeling, neurogenetics, and behavior, I will dissect the cellular circuits that direct the flow of information through the brain’s learning and reward systems, and allow a richer understanding of how dopamine signaling drives associative learning. My work will bolster our understanding of the neural basis of learning, a process that becomes impaired in disorders such as addiction, and schizophrenia.