The Neural Basis of Affective States
How does the brain regulate innate behaviors and emotional states? My research
is driven by a vision to decode evolutionarily conserved neural circuits that regulate
affective states like aggression and anxiety. In my work, I combine deep-brain 2-photon
calcium imaging and holographic optogenetics with theoretical neuroscience approaches
to unravel latent manifolds of neural activity and their dynamics. One such dynamic, line
attractors, is hypothesized to encode continuous variables such as eye position, working
memory, and internal states. However, direct evidence of neural implementation of a line
attractor in mammals has been hindered by the challenge of targeting perturbations to
specific neurons within ensembles. In this talk, I will present our recent breakthroughs
demonstrating causal evidence for line attractor dynamics in neurons encoding an
aggressive state and highlight functional connectivity within specific neuronal
ensembles. This work effectively bridges circuit and manifold levels, providing strong
evidence of intrinsic continuous attractor dynamics in a behaviorally relevant mammalian
system.