In 2018 I received an M.S. in Neuroscience from the University of Delaware. Currently, I am working as a laboratory technician collecting neuronal data from rats as they perform a spatial working memory task. My research interests are centered around how neural representations support spatial working memory and decision-making.
Spatial working memory (SWM), or the ability to hold spatial information 'in mind' for an epoch depends on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), hippocampus (HPC), nucleus reuniens (Re), and mPFC-HPC interactions via the Re. Numerous studies have investigated the neural mechanisms that support SWM using spatial alternation tasks in a T-maze, such as the delayed alternation (DA) and delayed non-match to position (DNMP) tasks. The fundamental difference between DA and DNMP is that the DNMP task can be separated into distinct task phases (cue-based encoding during the sample phase, memory maintenance during the delay phase, and memory-guided decision making during the choice phase) providing the means to investigate how neural representations, and inter-regional interactions are related to SWM. My project aims to examine the contributions of prefrontal sub-regions and their interactions with the HPC and Re to gain a better understanding of the processes that support memory.