Research

Research Interests:

Ongoing (corresponding to plans for lab rotation):

  1. Predictive coding in mouse V1 cortex (ref)
    • Two-photon imaging in layer 2/3 of V1 in awake mice
    • Explore predictive computation with sequential stimuli in experiments
    • Implement canonincal computation in microcircuit models and cortical networks
  2. Measurement of neural circuit dynamics (prospective second rotation)
    • "Whole brain" imaging techniques in C. elegans under behavior (ref)
    • Physical vs. functional connectivity in neural networks (ref)
  3. Theoretical/computational neuroscience (prospective third rotation)
    • Collective behavior in neural population (ref)
    • Information process and physical limits in the biological networks (ref)

Paper I am currently reading/thinking about (in the Github wiki and would hopefully be updated)

Interesting simulations (please check out this wab page with short scripts I wrote for practice and for fun!)

Past projects:

  1. Predictive information for temporal patterns in the retina (MS seminar2 , MS seminar1)

  2. Spatiotemporal activities in the nervous system
    • How is "time" represented in activities of neural population?
    • What are some coding strategies to hold temporal information in a neural networks?

General interests:

  1. Understand dynamics in neuroscience (continuing research in systems and computational neuroscience)
    • Can some illusion or animal behavior reveal the underlying mechanisms in neural dynamics?
    • Roles of stochasticity ("noise") and spontaneous activities in neural computation
  2. Investigate thermodynamics and signatures of criticality in biology
    • Is the nervous system poised at criticality? What are some functional benifits and possible mechanisms?
    • Experiments to verify the hypothesis (novel methods to record or stimulate neural ensemble across scales? measures for information or complexity?)
  3. Biophysics of the cell (another area that really interests me)
    • Detection and regulation of physical signals (such as electrical or mechanical cues) in the cell
    • How do cells control cytoskeleton and membrane properties to form different morphology and produce motion?