Development of optical techniques to manipulate and measure cortical circuits with higher brain functions

We intend to develop a novel two-photon microscope to measure multi-neuron activity in lateral areas of the marmoset frontal cortex to examine higher brain functions during task performance. After detecting cortical neurons and pathways that are crucial for the higher brain functions using these techniques, we will manipulate their activity by optogenetic or image-processing techniques to change brain functions and behaviors.