Zoom option if unable to attend in person: Zoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”) Meeting ID: 91512 289258 Passcode: 289258 The vast majority of drugs fail when trying to go from animals to humans.  Some fields fail more than others, with psychiatry being at the pinnacle of a competition no field wants to win.  Understanding behavior has been difficult enough, delineating what went awry at the genetic and environmental level throughout development, to give rise to a myriad of disorders characterized by their behavior – is there a haystack big enough for that one needle?  Then developing drugs targeting those […]

Zoom option if unable to attend in person: Zoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”) Meeting ID: 91512 289258 Passcode: 289258 The claustrum is a small brain region forming dense synaptic connections with most of the cerebral cortex. However, the function of this region remains a mystery. I will highlight recent work from our group mapping the connectivity of claustrum neurons and determining how these cells control distinct cortical modules to participate in cognitive functions such as memory.

Zoom option if unable to attend in person: Zoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”) Meeting ID: 91512 289258 Passcode: 289258 It is well established that after vision loss, capabilities of the other sensory systems can be enhanced. However, particularly in animal models of vision loss, little has been done to examine how vision loss leads to alterations in the ‘blind brain’, and how these changes affect an animal's behavior. Here I will discuss our recent work describing changes in neuronal activity and animal behaviour in mice following vision loss.