We are interested in the neurobiology of decision-making.  Specifically, our long-term research goal is to understand how animals manage to appraise the same sensory stimuli differently according to context to guide their behavioral decisions.  For example, an animal may be keenly interested in obtaining a specific food item when there is no other food option but reject the exact same food item when the animals is satiated or when a better option is available.  Elucidating the molecular and cellular mechanism by which neuronal circuits accomplish context-dependent appraisal of stimuli is not only important for understanding the decision-making processes but may also provide insights toward treatments for behavioral conditions such as drug addiction and eating disorders.

We have been taking a genetic approach to dissect the neuronal circuits that underlie simple decision-making processes, using female reproductive behaviors of Drosophila melanogaster as our model systems.  Works from us and others have shown that Drosophila females possess the ability to appraise the same sensory stimuli differently according context when deciding where to lay their eggs and when deciding whether to mate or not.  The robustness of the systems has allowed us to identify two novel sets of neurons and a neuro-peptide that play important roles in these simple behavioral decisions.  Our immediate goal is to build on these findings to define the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which these circuit components enable simple decision-making processes, using a combination of molecular genetics, behavioral analysis, and functional imaging approaches.  In addition, we have also begun to explore the molecular and cellular mechanism by which these circuit components mature during development to acquire competency in executing their functions.