Animal behavior often depends on the ability of individual neurons to selectively respond to different inputs from throughout the brain. Our lab studies functional connectivity at the levels of synapses, dendrites and circuits. We are particularly interested in how excitatory inputs are influenced by inhibitory networks and neuromodulators. Our studies focus on neurons in the prefrontal cortex and the ventral striatum. The functions of these regions are perturbed in schizophrenia, drug addiction and other neuropsychiatric disorders.