Dr. Picciotto's lab studies the role of acetylcholine signaling in complex behaviors and mouse models relevant to psychiatric illness. This work involves in vivo imaging of acetylcholine dynamics and its consequences on the activity of networks of neurons involved in cognition-, reward- or stress-related behaviors, as well as molecular genetic studies of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) and their role in mediating the actions of acetylcholine during development and in adulthood. I am mom to a 24 year old who works in environmental policy in California and who is a rock climber. When I am not in the lab, with students or on my computer, I can usually be found walking while listening to audiobooks. I will try to cook anything in an Ottolenghi cookbook.
