Rebecca Seal

Our work is focused on neural circuits that mediate two neurological conditions: Pain and Parkinson’s disease. We are also developing novel therapies to treat these conditions.

The Seal laboratory studies the neural circuitry that drives behavior in health and disease. We are currently focused on the following circuits: i) peripheral and central pain circuits, ii) motor circuits affected by Parkinson’s disease iii) glutamate and GABA co-release by forebrain cholinergic neurons and iv) peripheral and central auditory circuits. We aim to discover fundamental principals and mechanisms of the nervous system as well as identify novel treatment strategies for nervous system disorders.

Experimental Approach: We use mice as a model system and techniques such as virally-mediated designer receptors (DREADDs) to selectively activate or inhibit neurons, virally-mediated anterograde and retrograde tools to trace circuits, slice electrophysiology with optogenetic stimulation, confocal and 2-photon microscopy, molecular biology, histology, biochemistry and behavior.