Mentor Areas
- Systems Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Neuroanatomy
Description:
How do our brains decide when to cooperate with others and when to prioritize our own interests? Cooperation is fundamental to human society, shaping everything from friendships to science to global economies. Yet, the neural circuits that make cooperation possible remain largely unknown.
In our lab, we tackle this question by studying treeshrews, small mammals with brain architecture and behavior patterns that closely resemble primates. We train pairs of treeshrews to play a game theory–based cooperation task. In this task, animals must learn when to “insist” on their own choice and when to “accommodate” their partner’s choice to maximize long-term rewards. This setup allows us to explore how fairness, trust, and social history influence cooperative behavior.
At the same time, we use cutting-edge neuroscience techniques - such as multi-site electrophysiology (recording from hundreds of neurons simultaneously) and optogenetics (using light to control brain circuits)—to uncover how specific brain regions, like the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, guide these social decisions and how their dysfunction contributes to mental disorders with poor social functioning.
For undergraduates, this project offers a unique opportunity to participate in every stage of discovery, from hands-on behavioral training to computational modelling, neural data analysis and anatomical mapping of brain circuits. Students can expect to develop skills in animal behavior, experimental design, computational modeling, and neuroscience lab techniques, while contributing to a research program aimed at unraveling the biological basis of cooperation.
By joining this project, undergraduates will not only gain valuable scientific skills but also become part of an effort to answer one of the most fascinating questions in neuroscience: How does the brain make us social?
Preferred Qualifications
Some proficiency in or desire to learn MATLAB, Python is preferred.
Project Website
Learn more about the researcher and/or the project here. Mukherjee Lab
Details:
Preferred Student Year
First-year, Second-Year, Junior, Senior
Academic Term
Fall, Spring
I prefer to have students start during the above term(s).Volunteer
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to volunteers.Paid
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.Work Study
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.