Our research focus is to determine how connectivity and modulation of inhibitory circuits shapes emergent network behavior in the normal brain and in neurological diseases. The concept that tonic inhibition, mediated by high affinity extra-synaptic receptors, is a major determinant of neuronal excitability, and that certain forms of epilepsy and ataxia are associated with alterations in tonic inhibition, has led to an increasing interest in understanding how tonic extra-synaptic inhibition is regulated. Our goal is to identify mechanisms that modulate tonic inhibition during neuronal activity and determine how these mechanisms are altered in neurological disease states. This research will identify specific perturbations in the inhibitory networks and thereby point out novel therapeutic strategies to treat these conditions. My work combines electrophysiological techniques with computational modeling of network behavior to gain an in depth understanding of the mechanisms of inhibition.