Research Focus
I am broadly interested in studying the neural mechanisms involved in tasks where animals work for others’ rewards. My past project focused on parental feeding in zebra finches where parents feed chicks by regurgitation of the food they eat themselves, and currently I am focusing on the varied vocal and gestural behaviors of the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus). I use fiber photometry with genetically modified dopamine receptors that fluoresce when dopamine is bound to answer questions about the role of dopamine and trial-and-error learning in complex behaviors such as allofeeding or vocal duetting/interruption.