Interests

My research activities are focused on examining the mechanisms of behavioral plasticity triggered by external (e.g., aversive cues) or internal (e.g., food-induced satiation) stimuli (see below for details). In the laboratory, I am using the marine mollusk Aplysia californica as model system. Aplysia has been used for many years to examine the neural bases of behavior because it exhibits measurable behaviors that rely on well-characterized neural circuits consisting of a limited number of large neurons accessible for single-cell analysis. Consequently, data on the mechanisms of behavioral plasticity can be collected at the behavioral, circuit and single-cells levels within the same animal, thus allowing for a direct three-level type of analysis. The mechanisms of behavioral plasticity are explored both in vivo and in vitro with a combination of behavioral and neurophysiological techniques.