Zach Mainen
Systems Neuroscience Laboratory
We are interested in understanding the principles underlying the complex adaptive behavior of organisms. Starting with quantitative observations of animal behavior, we aim to integrate quantitative cellular and systems level experimental analysis of underlying neural mechanisms with theoretical, ecological and evolutionary contexts. Rats and mice provide flexible animal models that allow us monitor and manipulate neural circuits using electrophysiological, optical and molecular techniques. We have made progress using highly-controlled studies of a simple learned odor-cued decision task and are extending our focus toward more complex behaviors. Projects in the lab are wide-ranging and continually evolving. Current topics include (i) olfactory sensory decision-making, (ii) the function of the serotonin system, (iii) the role of uncertainty in brain function and behavior.
Group Members
- Zach Mainen, PhD (Principal Investigator)
- Masayoshi Murakami, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow)
- Guillaume Dugué, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow)
- Hope Johnson, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow)
- Magor Lorincz, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow)
- Maria Inês Vicente (Doctoral Student, PGCN)
- Sara Matias (Doctoral Student, MIT Portugal)
- Ana Rita Fonseca (Doctoral Student, PGCN)
- André Mendonça (Doctoral Student, PGCN)
Recent Publications
- Quirk MC, Sosulski DL, Feierstein CE, Uchida N and Mainen ZF (2009)
A defined network of fast-spiking interneurons in orbitofrontal cortex: responses to behavioral contingencies and ketamine administration.
Front Syst Neurosci 3:13. doi:10.3389/neuro.06.013.2009 PDF - Ranade SP, Mainen ZF (2009)
Transient firing of dorsal raphe neurons encodes diverse and specific sensory, motor, and reward events.
J Neurophysiol 102:3026-37. - Dugué GP, Mainen ZF (2009)
How serotonin gates olfactory information flow.
Nat Neurosci 12:673-5. - Mainen ZF, Kepecs A (2009)
Neural representation of behavioral outcomes in the orbitofrontal cortex.
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 19:84-91. PDF - Vicente MI, Mainen ZF (2008)
Towards an image of a memory trace.
Front Neurosci 2:131-2. - Felsen G, Mainen ZF (2008)
Neural substrates of sensory-guided locomotor decisions in the rat superior colliculus.
Neuron 60:137-48. PDF Preview PDF - Uchida N, Mainen ZF (2007) Odor concentration invariance by chemical ratio coding.
Front Syst Neurosci 1:3. PDF - Sato TR, Gray NW, Mainen ZF, Svoboda K (2007)
The functional microarchitecture of the mouse barrel cortex.
PLoS Biol 5:e189. PDF - Kepecs AC, Uchida N, Mainen ZF (2007)
Rapid and precise control of sniffing during olfactory discrimination in rats.
J Neurophys, 98:205-13. PDF - Kepecs A, Uchida N, Mainen ZF (2006)
The sniff as a unit of olfactory processing.
Chem Senses 31, 167-79. PDF - Uchida N, Kepecs A, Mainen ZF (2006)
Seeing at a glance, smelling in a whiff: rapid forms of perceptual decision making.
Nature Rev Neurosci, 7:485-491. PDF - Mainen ZF (2006)
Behavioral analysis of olfactory coding and computation in rodents.
Curr Opin Neurobiol, 16: 429-423. PDF - Gurden, Uchida and Mainen (2006)
Sensory-evoked intrinsic optical signals in the olfactory bulb are coupled to glutamate release and uptake.
Neuron 52 335-345. PDF; Preview by Howarth and Attwell - Egger V, Svoboda K, Mainen ZF (2005)
Dendrodendritic synaptic signals in olfactory bulb granule cells: local spine boost and global low-threshold spike.
J Neurosci 25, 3521-30. PDF - Uchida N, Mainen ZF (2003)
Speed and accuracy of olfactory discrimination in the rat.
Nature Neurosci 6, 1224-1229. PDF - Egger V, Svoboda K, Mainen ZF (2003)
Mechanisms of lateral inhibition in the olfactory bulb: efficiency and modulation of spike-evoked calcium influx into granule cells.
J Neurosci 23, 7551-8.
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