The research program in the Basso lab seeks to answer some of the most pressing questions in neuroscience and we incorporate a variety of experimental approaches, bridging gaps between cellular and systems-level neuroscience.

We know very little about how the activity of populations of neurons and the circuits they create give rise to higher mental function, yet answers to circuit-based questions have the potential to reveal the fundamental mechanisms underlying neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases ranging from Parkinson’s disease and dystonia to addiction, autism, depression, and schizophrenia.

The primary focus of the Basso lab emphasizes behavioral, electrophysiological, and computational techniques in monkeys. We also perform experiments using the in-vitro rodent model, and biophysical tools such as patch-clamp recording, and we make use of advances in molecular biology and genetics using transgenic mice combined with optogenetics to uncover cellular and circuit mechanisms of higher mental function.

In the lab, we also extend the principles learned from fundamental science to translational research with patient populations. These efforts are leading to new ways of thinking about symptoms seen in people with Parkinson’s disease. Our work represents an important step forward in understanding the neurobiology of Parkinson’s disease and may help fill unmet clinical needs by providing clues into how cognitive dysfunction may underlie motor symptoms, as well as identifying novel ways to detect the disease earlier in its course.