Sue Ann Koay, PhD

Sue Ann Koay is interested in how brains learn and generate a vast spectrum of context-dependent behaviors on the fly. Koay and her team seek to uncover the neural bases of free-form spatial exploration and cognition behaviors in mice. The team uses a virtual reality framework to simulate complex environments that do not have tightly constrained task structures, but in which animals can find many ways to satisfy their internal drives. This work aims to discover and explain neural mechanisms that underlie the brain’s ability to flexibly modify behavioral patterns based on knowledge gathered about the environment.