Research

Animal behavior is primarily conveyed by movement, and thus a basic understanding of the biology of behavior hinges on the ability to measure how animals move. Movement is also intimately linked to brain health and provides sensitive metrics for neuropsychiatric disorders, including those not primarily categorized as motor disorders (e.g., autism spectrum disorders (ASD), schizophrenia). Despite the fundamental connection between movement and the brain, there has been a notable lack of tools for precise movement quantification across scales, from motor primitives to coordinated behaviors of the individual and in social groups. As such, current descriptions of animal behavior have been too coarse and ad hoc, limiting our ability to investigate diverse brain states: the patterns of neural activity ultimately specifying behavioral output. The objective of our lab is to bridge this gap by establishing experimental technologies and deep learning algorithms that provide high-resolution 3D readouts of animal behaviors. Our overarching vision is to develop and apply a set of deep movement technologies to resolve previously inaccessible brain states – as they manifest externally in behavior and are modulated by intervention and disease – serving as a robust and universal platform for understanding the nervous system.