Long-term interests: Auditory neuroscience, Structure and function of neural circuits, Pathophysiology, biomedical devices, and drug discovery

Findings from the early 1900s by Jasper, Penfield, Magoun, and Morruzi (considered among the most eminent scientists in neuroscience for their work) led to a series of questions on the role of the brainstem and cortex. It is still unclear from the sensory perspective on the role of these brain regions, how inter-dependent these structures are, what they code, and how they work together to form a sensory perception? Our lab is interested in answering these questions from the auditory perspective. To this end, we plan to use aging and tinnitus (pathology of the central auditory system) models and answer the questions on:

How are the brain dynamics affected? (using electrophysiology/ microiontophoresis/ optogenetics/ behavior/ molecular biology tools - Collaborations with  Profs. Sabareesh and Ramendra Kishor Pal for tool development and Prof. Sajeli Begum - (Pharm. Chemistry) BITS Hyderabad) 

What does the altered brain dynamics mean? (Using computational models and deep neural networks – a collaborative work with Profs. Venkateswaran R and STP Srinivas – BITS Pilani/ Hyderabad).

Short-term goals: 

• Impact of hearing loss on mental health and cognitive function
• Mechanisms of the basal forebrain mediated impact on auditory cortical function
• New small molecules for targeting drug-resistant epilepsy
• Developing novel edible electrodes for neuroscience applications