Two mice facing each other with a yellow, red, and blue overlapping circlers in the background

Understanding the neural basis of social competence

What we do

Our research goal is to discover how the brain enables social competency and how this ability is disrupted in disease states.

Abstract representation with three circular shapes in different colors connected by a dashed line and a zigzag line, symbolizing variable interactions.

We do not interact with our boss and mother in the same way. The ability to shift our social behavior based on the information available is known as social competence. 

A cluster of six clustered circles in varying shades and sizes, with plus and minus signs, representing complex social dynamics.

For social animals and humans to thrive, they must show social competence and adjust behavior based on social history (e.g. social rank) and context (e.g. in the presence of a threat).

Two circular shapes connected by jagged, irregular lines, illustrating disrupted connections, representing neurological disorders.

Psychiatric and neurological disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorders and Schizophrenia disrupt social competency, yet there are limited therapies for these social deficits. 

How we do it

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Measuring social behavior

To uncover how the brain enables social competency, we must be able to quantify social competency. As mice are social animals, we can study their social competence by designing behavioral assays that allow us to measure complex murine social abilities. Furthermore, by using computer vision technology, we can quantify social behaviors that are impossible to quantify with the human eye.

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Networks

Over the last decade, a lot of research has demonstrated that multiple brain circuits accomplish the same behavioral goal. Understanding how these circuits interact and work in tandem is crucial to understanding how the brain controls behavior. Rather than studying one circuit in isolation, we use multi-site electrophysiology to study how multiple circuits interact at the network level. 

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Circuit manipulations

By manipulating specific circuit elements in the network using optogenetics or chemogenetics, we can identify which circuit nodes modulate social behavior and how those manipulations affect the rest of the network.

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Machine learning

As the complexity of our datasets increases, they become more challenging to analyze. By using machine learning and artificial intelligence, we can analyze behavior and neural activity and understand their relationship better.

Our commitment to training.

The Padilla-Coreano lab is committed to providing high quality mentoring & scientific training for the next generation of scientists.