Ölveczky Lab

Our Research Goal

We are interested in how complex behaviors, learned and otherwise, are generated by the brain. To study this, we use rats, experimentally tractable models capable of mastering a variety of motor and cognitive tasks. To help us decipher how the underlying neural circuits function, we have developed a unique experimental infrastructure, including a fully automated high-throughput training system that can be combined with continuous long-term neural recordings and high-resolution 3D behavioral tracking. We further augment our experimental platform with a variety of circuit dissection tools (optogenetics, pharmacogenetics etc) and sophistictaed analytical and computational approaches. In collaboration with DeepMind, we also developed a virtual rodent - a biomechanically realistic model of a rat that is controlled by an artifical neural network and can recapitulate many of the behaviors of real rats. The ultimate goal of our research is to deliver a mechanistic description of how the mammalian brain controls complex behaviors and address how the underlying neural circuits are compromised in disease, including autism.