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).

I am broadly interested in the study of animal cognition and behavior.  After gaining a strong background in learning theory and primate cognition, I am now studying serial pattern learning in the Fountain Lab with rats.  Currently, I am specifically interested in rats' ability to learn, extract, use, integrate, and transfer rules in various patterns and contexts.  I am also interested in accounting for serial pattern learning through associative models and computational modeling.  Additionally, I have a strong interest in developing novel paradigms for the exploration of serial behavior.