Research

Lights, camera, action!

Peeking into the brains of mice to understand how dopamine supports learning.

Current research directions

Dopamine subcircuits in reinforcement learning, decision-making, and habit formation

Dopamine is not monolithic. We dissect distinct dopamine subcircuits and their computational roles in learning, motivation, and the transition to habit.

Effects of stress on dopamine circuit structure and function

Stress is a powerful risk factor for depression and addiction. We study how stress across development and adulthood reshapes dopamine circuits.

Impacts of Parkinsonian neurodegeneration on dopamine circuits

We apply our understanding of dopamine subcircuits to the earliest stages of Parkinson’s disease, when degeneration begins.

Computational principles for decision-making

A talk by Dr. Lerner at the 2024 Kavli Frontiers of Science Korean-American Symposium, which provides an overview of the field of decision-making and the computational principles by which we can begin to integrate findings about decision-making from across neuroscientific subdisciplines. She then focuses on examples from the Lerner laboratory, using rodents as a model system to dissect behavioral strategies underlying decisions to seek rewards under the threat of punishment.