One of the fundamental questions in Neuroscience is understanding how sensory pathways control neural circuit function to produce adequate behavioral responses in varying environmental conditions. The Stein lab uses experimental and theoretical approaches to study the neuromodulation of sensory pathways and motor circuits, exploiting the advantages of the central pattern generating circuits in the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion. Central pattern generators are sets of neurons that exist in most animals and control rhythmic behaviors, including walking, swimming, breathing and swallowing. In the stomatogastric ganglion, these neurons are easy to record from, they continue to function even if isolated from the animal, and their connectivity is known. Methods used in the lab are manifold, including current and voltage clamp recordings, optical imaging, RNA and DNA extraction, and computer modeling.