My current research examines the seasonal and steroid-dependent plasticity of the adult auditory system in the plainfin midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus).
The vocal midshipman fish has become a model for identifying the mechanisms of auditory reception, neural encoding and vocal production shared by all vertebrates. I use a combination of experimental approaches that include neurophysiology, neuroendocrinology and behavioral studies to determine how the vertebrate auditory system functions in natural ecological settings, how the brain processes species-specific communication signals, and what are the adaptive sensory mechanisms that are used by animals to optimize a receiver’s sensitivity to the social signals used during communication.

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Research Projects and Interests:

- Seasonal and steroid hormone effects on the response properties of the auditory system in the plainfin midshipman fish

- Ontogenetic changes in the response properties and function of auditory and electrosensory systems

- Otolithic endorgan projections of the auditory inner ear

- Neuroethology and life history adaptations of the elasmobranch electric sense and the teleost auditory system