With a fairly strong background in Pavlovian conditioning, my primary research interest is associative learning and the underlying mechanisms involved in various aspects of how animals learn.  I have been able to apply my classical conditioning background to the instrumental paradigms used in the Fountain Lab which allow us to look at even more complex cognitive issues.  While working in the Fountain Lab I have conducted studies looking at how manipulations of the cholinergic system can differentially affect how rats acquire and retain sequential patterns, as well as strategies they employ when asked to produce modified sequential patterns ( i.e., "probes").  These studies have explored the global effects of various cholinergic receptor agonists and antagonists via systemic injections.  My future research plans include looking at more specific effects of cholinergic modulation (e.g., lesions, site-specific injections via cannula, & other methods yet to be determined).