We are investigating the cellular and synaptic mechanisms that underlie the synchronous oscillatory activity in three different neural systems of the mammalian brain: the thalamo-cortical, limbic forebrain-habenular, and subthalamo-pallidal systems. Such oscillations are related with sleep-waking cycles, certain forms of epilepsy, movement, and mood regulation.

We are currently focusing on three main topics: first, how the differential activation of GABAA and GABAB receptors in the thalamocortical system dictates neural network oscillations in the form of the sleep spindle rhythm and absence seizures; second, how glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses in the limbic forebrain-habenular system regulate its rhythmic output to the downstream dopamine and serotonin cells in the midbrain and thus controls affective brain functions; third, how deep brain stimulation alters the oscillatory activity of the subthalamo-pallidal system and thus alleviates Parkinsonian symptoms.

For these studies, we employ various electrical recordings such as multi-channel extracellular, dual intracellular, and whole-cell patch clamp recordings in brain slices in vitro as well as in intact animals in vivo.