Welcome to the Brain Development and Disorders Lab
Our lab is striving to understand how brain circuits are formed during development and how these circuits mediate behavior. Our studies focus on the development and function of interhemispheric connections of the mammalian brain, and we study animals and people with altered brain wiring.
Projects

Activity-dependent mechanisms of early brain wiring
We want to understand how the brain first switches on activity in ensembles of circuits, and how early pattered activity might mediate the formation of mature brain circuits related to brain function.

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of early brain wiring
We are studying a family of transcription factors, nuclear factor one (Nfi), which play critical roles in early brain development. Children with mutations in Nfi genes display a variety of developmental disorders.

Human Corpus Callosum Disorders
Corpus Callosum Disorders (CCD) profoundly affects how the brain is wired. We work in partnership with people who have CCD to understand how this condition impacts their cognitive, social, and emotional function.