Research Interests
The goal of our research is to understand how distinct regions of the brain interact as a process of what we experience and how we use that information to inform choice. It is a mystery as to how coordination between brain regions occurs, but overwhelming evidence suggests that rhythms or “brain waves” that are present in all animal species serve as a type of scaffolding that allow for the dynamic coupling of regions together transiently. In diseases such as autism, we believe that local rhythms contribute so strongly to couple nearby neurons that they are not influenced by other regions of the brain. In contrast, in conditions like Parkinson’s disease, we believe that regions of the motor pathways become so ubiquitously over-coupled that it impedes the ability to promote movement.
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