Macie Hakim

I study the cortico-basal ganglia circuitry underlying movement, reward, and cognition and how these neural circuits interact to control behavior. I am particularly interested in identifying the circuit disruptions that occur in disease states such as Parkinsonism. This research addresses an important need to better understand the systems affected by disease so that novel treatment approaches, such as deep brain stimulation, can be optimized to better target the specific circuit dysfunctions underlying behavioral impairments. This work will utilize techniques such as animal models of disease, optogenetics, electrophysiology, circuit tracing, behavioral analysis, etc.