CHANG LAB
Laboratory of Electrophysiology and Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavior We use Pavlovian fear conditioning and operant conditioning to study the neural basis of learned behaviors in rats.
Stereotax Surgery The whole animal brain surgeries are conducted for intra-cranial manipulations such as cannula implants for microinjections of pharmacological agents, functional anatomy, and immunohistochemistry.
Behavioral Pharmacology Tiny drops of pharmacological agents (on the scale of nano- to microliters) are microinjected into brain areas to modulate the level of certain neurotransmitters in awake behaving rats. This approach allows us to assess how the activity of the structure of interest shapes behaviors.
Chemogenetics Specific receptors are expressed in the neurons. These receptors are responsive to chemical compound bindings. This approach allows us to control the activation or inactivation of the neurons or pathways with temporal precision.
Functional Anatomy and Immunohistochemistry Tract-tracing is used to identify anatomical projections from one structure to the other, and cFos immunohistochemisty is quantified to identify their activity during behavior tasks.