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 in vivo electrophysiology studies, as well as intra-cranial manipulations such as lesions, cannula implants for microinjections of pharmacological agents, functional anatomy, and immunohistochemistry.
Electrophysiology In vivo extracellular single unit recordings are conducted in anesthetized animals, to study the interactions among different brain structures, synaptic plasticity, and the input-output relationship.
Lesions The most classical approach to examine the function of a brain structure is to take it out and see the changes in behavior!
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.
Optogenetics and Chemogenetics Specific receptors are expressed in the neurons. These receptors are responsive to light stimulation or chemical compound bindings. This approach allows us to control the activation or inactivation of the neurons 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.