The goal of the research in my lab is to determine the role(s) that neuromodulators play in cognition – and by what circuit mechanisms and over what spatial and temporal scales they subserve those functions. Our primary focus is on the noradrenergic, serotonergic and cholinergic systems in the neocortex. The techniques we employ are diverse: we use a biosensor that combines classical electrophysiological recording capabilities with the ability to measure the local chemical environment at high spatial and temporal resolution; we combine electrophysiological recording with pharmacological manipulation to examine causal relationships between neuromodulation, neuronal activity and behavioral performance; and we study the structure of neuromodulatory systems in the neocortex from a comparative perspective at both the light and electron microscopic levels.