Johns Hopkins University · NeuroscienceThe Cognition Circuit Lab
Solange P Brown · Baltimore, Maryland
Research Focus
Dr. Solange P Brown's lab at Johns Hopkins University studies how a brain region called the claustrum helps us make flexible decisions, especially under changing circumstances. They use animal models to investigate how the claustrum interacts with other brain areas critical for cognition, particularly when we need to learn from our past choices. By understanding these brain mechanisms better, the research aims to shed light on cognitive flexibility, which is often impaired in various neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and ADHD.
claustrumdecision makingcognitive flexibilityneuropsychiatric disordersreversal learningmedial prefrontal cortexlateral orbitofrontal cortexpersistent cortical activityneural circuitslearning tasks
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate how claustral neuron activity encodes decision variables during flexible tasks.
AIM 02Examine the role of claustrocortical projections in maintaining cortical activity.
AIM 03Determine if claustral input is vital for dynamic decision making and reversal learning.
AIM 04Test how interactions between the claustrum and cortex affect learning over different timescales.
AIM 05Explore the implications of claustral function for understanding cognitive control in neuropsychiatric diseases.
Skills the Lab Values
animal behavior studiesneuroscience modelingelectrophysiologytask designbehavioral experimentscortical neuron analysisdata analysis in neurosciencevivo imaging techniquesexperimental designneuroanatomy techniques
Output against the department
Publications48bottom 10% of dept.602nd of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations3.1kbottom 23% of dept.517th of 671
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.