Dr. Mir Shahram Safari

Assistant Prof., PhD of Physiology

Lab for Dynamics of Cortical Circuits 

Importance of top-down (corticocortical) and bottom-up (subcortical) pathways in regulating visual responsiveness are crucial, how these two pathways working independently and how interact during coincident engagement in vivo to optimize visual perception while maintaining network stability is unknown. Sensory-evoked responses in V1 neurons are highly dependent on subcortical neuromodulation pathways that regulate brain state. With cell-type-specific resolution using optogenetics and optopatcher in vivo, we are addressing how corticocortical and subcortical pathways (such as cholinergic and serotonergic systems) interact to regulate responsiveness of layer II/III neurons of V1. Our studies provide insight into the rules and conditions governing activity propagation in connected networks of brain.