Our Goal

One of the primary functions of animal behavior is to maintain homeostasis—how is this coordinated by the brain? Our group is addressing, from a genetic and neural perspective, how the brain integrates sensory and physiological information to coordinate behavior and thermal homeostasis.

Mice are a model organism for studies of energy regulation and animal behavior alike. Because laboratory mice are housed below their thermoneutral zone (i.e., the ambient temperature where metabolic rate is at a minimum) and exert around one-third of their energy budget on cold-induced thermogenesis, understanding the relationship between behavior and thermoregulation is informative. Mouse thermoregulatory behaviors include thermal comfort seeking, nesting, physical activity, and huddling. However, neural circuits underlying behavioral thermoregulation are poorly understood.