Stephanie White, Ph.D.

How do social interactions influence the brain? Our laboratory is interested in how social behaviors affect neuronal plasticity at sites responsible for learning in an Australian songbird, the zebra finch. Song learning is essential for reproductive opportunity and is mediated by known neural circuitry. In zebra finches, both the learned behavior and its underlying neural structures are sexually dimorphic, and plasticity is greatest during critical developmental phases. Within a comparative framework, we use behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular techniques to investigate how social interactions shape gene expression patterns, how these changes modulate neuronal and circuit properties and ultimately, how this constellation of changes sculpts behavior.

Social influences on learning and memory How do social interactions influence the brain? Our laboratory is interested in how social behaviors affect neuronal plasticity at sites responsible for learning in an Australian songbird, the zebra finch. We study song learning behavior that is essential for reproductive opportunity and is mediated by known neural circuitry. In zebra finches, both the learned behavior and its underlying neural structures are sexually dimorphic, and plasticity is greatest during critical developmental phases. Within a comparative framework, we use behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular techniques to investigate how social interactions shape gene expression patterns, how these changes modulate neural circuit properties and ultimately, how this constellation of changes sculpts behavior.