Research Projects

Please contact Carlos (clois@caltech.edu) for more information about current projects.

 
 

Regulation of neuronal integration into brain circuits.

The brain of adult vertebrates harbors a population of neuronal stem cells that continues to proliferate throughout the life of the animal, and whose progeny migrate through the brain, differentiate into neurons, and establish synaptic contacts with other neurons in the circuit. We are interested in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control the integration of these neurons into neuronal circuits...

 
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Genetic control of the assembly of circuits involved in vocal learning.

Vocal learning depends on the ability of brain circuits to perceive and imitate sound sequences and use these sequences for communication. Songbirds such as canaries and zebra finches have been a favorite experimental system for the study of vocal learning in animals for decades...

 
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A new genetic method to identify connectivity between neurons.

We have designed a new genetic strategy to identify the wiring diagram of brain circuits. The system is based on the logic of the delta-notch system and it will allows not only to trace connections between neurons, but also to genetically modify the physiological properties of circuits of connected neurons...