select publications

Unraveling the emergent chorus of the mind: Machine learning reveals a neural code orchestrating emotion

This essay provides a broad overview of my work on how AI methods are uncovering signals that underlie key properties of diverse emotional states.

The neural computation of affective internal states in the hypothalamus: A dynamical systems perspective

This review provides a comprehensive overview of my work on how data-driven AI methods are uncovering dynamical manifolds that underlie emotional states.

An approximate line attractor in the hypothalamus encodes an aggressive state

This paper introduced the framework of dynamical systems into the study of affect. It showed how data-driven methods that approximate neural activity as dynamical systems can uncover hypotheses for how affect is encoded in an unsupervised manner

Causal evidence for a line attractor encoding an affective state

In this paper, we used two-photon holographic optogenetics combined with closed-loop machine learning methods to test key properties of continuous attractor dynamics and provide evidence for an intrinsic line attractor in the hypothalamus.

Encoding of female mating dynamics by a hypothalamic line attractor

In this paper, we show that line attractors are used to encode diverse affective states, including states of sexual arousal. We find that these attractors undergo drastic modification across the estrus cycle, offering clues about their mechanistic underpinnings.

A line attractor encoding a persistent internal state requires neuropeptide signaling

Using new CRISPR-based tools, we show in this paper that neuropeptide release is crucial for instantiating robust attractor dynamics in innate neural circuits.

Population coding of predator imminence in the hypothalamus

This paper extends the population coding framework to the encoding of predator fear-like states in the hypothalamus.

A functional logic for neurotransmitter co-release in the cholinergic forebrain pathway

In this paper, we combine ex vivo electrophysiology with network modeling to address the paradox of how neuromodulatory systems can release opposing transmitters while still encoding information.