Dr. Pickens is interested in how the brain compensates for dysfunction of one brain area by changing the strategy used to a different strategy that depends upon other brain areas.
Our primary focus is on thalamocortical circuits involved in this compensation and we examine this in models of several disorders affecting prefrontal cortex function, including psychostimulant- and opioid- use disorder and Fragile X syndrome (a common genetic cause of autism spectrum disorder). The lab studies these compensatory mechanisms with chemogenetic, functional neuroanatomy, brain lesions/temporary inactivations, pharmacology and behavioral approaches.
Keywords:
- Behavioral Neuroscience/Animal Learning
- Psychopharmacology, Drugs of Abuse, Learning, Conditioning, Decision-Making
