Christian Cazares

Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Postdoctoral Fellow

Prefrontal Cortex Calcium Imaging Serotonin Ethology Mouse Social Neuroscience Optogenetics Machine Learning

Hello! I am a postdoctoral research fellow in the Tye Lab at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and co-founder of Colors of the Brain, a summer undergraduate research program at UC San Diego. My current research uses an ethological approach to model social competition in mice. By use of genetically encoded sensors, optogenetics and computational modeling, I am investigating how neuromodulator inputs to the orbitofrontal cortex aid in the detection and use of social rank information to bias the use of different competitive strategies. My long-term goal is to start a lab that researches cortical circuits for social decision-making and their disruption in neurodevelopmental disorders.

About Christian