Our laboratory is interested in the behavioral and neurobiological factors that regulate learning and memory.  Of particular interest are the neural mechanisms that are at the interface between attention and learning.  We combine classical conditioning procedures with biochemical, pharmacological, and neuroanatomical techniques to study topics such as competition and interaction between cortical systems, cellular mechanisms underlying attention and memory, and the role of cholinergic systems in attention and learning.  One goal of this research is to further our understanding of the basic mechanisms of information processing in the brain.  A second goal is to relate these findings to the biological basis of cognitive dysfunction and mental illness in humans.  For specific projects we are currently working on, click on "Current Research."