Description of Research Expertise

We, at the Mukherjee lab, take a systems neuroscience approach to understand how brain circuits support complex cognition and how disruptions in these circuits contribute to psychiatric disorders. Our research primarily focuses on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and its dynamic interactions with key brain regions like the hippocampus and thalamus.

We use an integrative approach, combining behavioral physiology with advanced techniques such as circuit tracing, single-cell transcriptomics, and optogenetic manipulations. Using rodents and treeshrews as model organisms, we investigate how specific populations of neurons within the PFC and across its wider network work together to support cognitive functions like memory consolidation and inference based reasoning.

By studying these circuits in freely behaving animals we formulate hypotheses about their functional roles and causally validate them using optical and pharmacological tools. A key aspect of our work is to understand the functional maturation of cognitive control circuits across normal development and their fidelity in animal models of psychiatric disorders. Ultimately, our goal is to identify novel therapeutic strategies to enhance cognitive function and treat mental health conditions.