OCD and Compulsive Behaviors
Investigating how alterations in striatal circuit function and neuromodulation contribute to compulsive behaviors.
Stony Brook University Renaissance School of Medicine, Department of Neurobiology & Behavior
Basal ganglia circuits.Function. Behavior. Disease.
Investigating how basal ganglia circuits shape behavior and how their dysfunction contributes to neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Research Focus
Compartmental Function of the Striatum
Understanding how striosome and matrix compartments are differentially engaged and regulated to shape behavior.
Neuromodulation
Studying how neuromodulators regulate striatal circuit function in health and disease.
Parkinson's Disease
Examining how dopamine depletion and replacement alter striatal compartmental function and contribute to motor and non-motor symptoms.
Featured Publication
A basolateral amygdala to dorsolateral striatum projection modulates stimulus-evoked motor behavior
Hobel ZB, Brechbill TR, Cruz AM, Yang LT, Jimenez K, Wu B, Liu Q, Kirsch SB, Fernandes NJ, Bock R, Alvarez VA, Blackwell KT, Plotkin JL.Neuron · 2026
Read the publication →About the Lab
The Plotkin Lab investigates how distinct cell types, neural pathways, and neuromodulators interact within basal ganglia circuits. By combining electrophysiology, two-photon calcium imaging, and behavioral approaches, we study the circuit mechanisms that govern action selection and motor behavior, and how these mechanisms change in neurological and psychiatric disorders.