Our goal is to understand how animals transform sensory input into behavior. We investigate several facets of this problem, such as how the brain coordinates the movement of multiple body parts to construct goal-directed behaviors and how the brain selects movement trajectories that account for the animal’s pose relative to the goal. Our studies capitalize on mouse innate behaviors we have identified, genetic tools we developed for defining neuronal cell types, cell type-specific electrophysiological and optical recordings, targeted perturbations, and modeling. Our long-term aim is to understand how the brain encodes information from input to output. 

PUBLICATIONS

  • Zahler, S.H.*, Taylor, D.E.*, Wright, B.S., Wong, J.Y., Shvareva, V.A., Park, Y.A., Feinberg, E.H. (2023) Hindbrain modules differentially transform activity of single collicular neurons to coordinate movements. Cell, 186(14):3062-3078. (*Contributed equally)

  • Cheung, V., Chung, P., and Feinberg, E.H. (2022). Transcriptional profiling of mouse projection neurons with VECTORseq. STAR Protocols. 3(3):101625.

  • Zahler, S.H.*, Taylor, D.E.*, Wong., J.Y., Adams, J.M., and Feinberg, E.H. (2021) Superior colliculus drives stimulus-evoked directionally biased saccades and attempted head movements in head-fixed mice. eLife. 10:e73081 (*Contributed equally)

  • Cheung, V., Chung, P., Bjorni, M.*, Shvareva, V.A.*, Lopez, Y.C., and Feinberg, E.H. (2021) Virally Encoded Connectivity Transgenic Overlay RNA sequencing (VECTORseq) defines projection neurons involved in sensorimotor integration. Cell Reports, 37(12):110131. (*Contributed equally)

  • Chen, Y,. Jang, H., Spratt, P.W.E., Kosar, S., Taylor, D.E., Essner, R.A., Bai, L., Leib, D.E., Kuo, T.W., Lin, Y.C., Patel, M., Subkhangulova, A., Kato, S., Feinberg, E.H., Bender, K.J., Knight, Z.A., and Garrison, J.L. (2020) Soma-Targeted Imaging of Neural Circuits by Ribosome Tethering. Neuron. 107(3):454-469.

PREVIOUS WORK

  • Feinberg, E.H. and Meister, M. (2015) Orientation columns in the mouse superior colliculus. Nature. 519(7542): 229-32.

  • Wickersham, I.R.* and Feinberg, E.H.* (2012) New technologies for imaging synaptic partners.  Curr. Opin. Neurobiology. 22(1):121-7. (* Co-corresponding authors)

  • Macosko, E.Z., Pokala, N., Feinberg, E.H., Chalasani, S.H., Butcher, R.A., Clardy, J., Bargmann, C.I. (2009) A hub-and-spoke circuit drives pheromone attraction and social behaviour in C. elegans. Nature. 458(7242):1171-5.

  • Feinberg, E.H., Vanhoven, M.K., Bendesky, A., Wang, G., Fetter, R.D., Shen, K., and Bargmann, C.I. (2008) GFP Reconstitution Across Synaptic Partners (GRASP) defines cell contacts and synapses in living nervous systems. Neuron. 57(3):353-63.

  • Winston, W.M., Sutherlin, M., Wright, A.J., Feinberg, E.H., and Hunter, C.P. (2007) Caenorhabditis elegans SID-2 is required for environmental RNA interference. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104(25):10565-70.

  • Hunter, C.P., Winston, W.M., Molodowitch, C., Feinberg, E.H., Shih, J., Sutherlin, M., Wright, A.J., and Fitzgerald, M.C. (2006) Systemic RNAi in Caenorhabditis elegans. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. Quant. Biol.;71:95-100. 

  • García-García, M.J., Eggenschwiler, J.T., Caspary, T., Alcorn, H.L., Wyler, M.R., Huangfu, D., Rakeman, A.S., Lee, J.D., Feinberg, E.H., Timmer, J.R., and Anderson, K.V. (2005) Analysis of mouse embryonic patterning and morphogenesis by forward genetics. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102(17):5913-9.

  • Panoutsakopoulou, V, Huster,  K.M., McCarty, N., Feinberg, E., Wang, R., Wucherpfennig, K.W., and Cantor, H. (2004) Suppression of autoimmune disease after vaccination with autoreactive T cells that express Qa-1 peptide complexes.  J. Clin. Invest. 113(8):1218-24.

  • Feinberg, E.H. and Hunter, C.P. (2003) Transport of dsRNA into cells by the transmembrane protein SID-1.  Science. 301(5639): 1545-1547.