Our lab addresses how the brain generates healthy patterns of electrical activity, and in turn, how neural circuits acquire energy to support these processes. We are trying to understand the cellular, molecular, and metabolic mechanisms that typically limit healthy neuronal function, which we hope will allow us to devise new ways to think about these limitations in various disease states. Instead of creating disease models in the lab and trying to "fix" them, we use model systems found in nature that evolved strategies to overcome major disturbances to the nervous system for their survival. Uncovering these mechanisms has implications for new ways to approach neurological disorders, as we can “reverse engineer” natural solutions that animals already use to improve fitness of brain circuits.