- July 16, 2015
We would like to welcome Pree Sareen to the lab
- February 03, 2015
We would like to welcome Dan Lajoie to the lab.
- November 03, 2014Source: Current Biology
We would like to announce Michael Kunst's new paper Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Neurons Mediate Sleep-Specific Circadian Output in Drosophila
- October 10, 2014Source: NIH RePORTER
We would like to announce the award of a grant Synaptic Microcircuits Controlling Sleep
- August 11, 2014Source: University of San Diego
Congratulations to Divya Sitaraman, who is starting her own lab this month at University of San Diego!
Lighting a path to understanding the brain's 'language'
Yale professor Michael Nitabach and colleagues are using new optical techniques to measure electrical activity of genetically-targeted sets of neurons in a living organism, a prerequisite for understanding the complex internal 'language' of the brain. Video by Patrick Lynch.
Nitabach Lab
The Nitabach lab is focused broadly on the use of genetic, physiological, and behavioral approaches to understanding the information processing principles by which neural circuits control animal behavior. Particular behaviors we are interested in include sleep, circadian rhythms, multisensory integration, and learning.
Most of our work is pursued using as model organisms Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies and Caenorhabditis elegans nematode fruit worms. Specific technical approaches employed include whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology, optical imaging of membrane voltage and intracellular second messengers, cell-specific genetic targeting of biophysical and biochemical effectors, and sophisticated behavioral assays.