In parallel with our efforts to understand the neurobiology of emotion systems, we are developing new tools and methodologies to enable more rapid and powerful approaches to these biological problems. The methods and enabling platform technologies we are developing include a) automated, machine vision-based quantitative measurement of behavior (in collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Pietro Perona, Allen E. Puckett Professor of Electrical Engineering); b) new, viral-based methods for trans-neuronal circuit tracing; c) genetically based silencing of neuronal activity (in collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Henry A. Lester, Bren Professor of Biology); and d) novel preparations for in vivo imaging of neuronal activity using genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs).


Liming Wang, graduate student
Li-Ching Lo, research specialist
Sophia Vrontou, postdoctoral fellow
Michael Maire, postdoctoral fellow (Perona lab)
Piotr Dollar, postdoctoral fellow (Perona lab)
Todd Anthony, postdoctoral fellow


Lin, D., Boyle, M.P., Dollar, P., Perona, P., Lein, E.S. and Anderson, D.J. (2011). Functional identification of an aggression locus in the mouse hypothalamus. Nature in press.

Haubensak, W., Kunwar, P.S., Cai, H., Ciocchi, S., Wall, N.R., Ponnusamy, R., Biag, J., Dong, H.W., Deisseroth, K., Callaway, E.M., et al. (2010). Genetic dissection of an amygdala microcircuit that gates conditioned fear. Nature 468, 270-276. [ Pubmed ]

Dankert, H., Wang, L., Hoopfer, E.D., Anderson, D.J., and Perona, P. (2009). Automated monitoring and analysis of social behavior in Drosophila. Nat Methods 6, 297-303. [ Pubmed ]

Lerchner, W., Xiao, C., Nashmi, R., Slimko, E.M., van Trigt, L., Lester, H.A., and Anderson, D.J. (2007). Reversible silencing of neuronal excitability in behaving mice by a genetically targeted, ivermectin-gated Cl- channel. Neuron 54, 35-49. [ Pubmed ]