Sandeep Robert Datta
Sandeep Robert Datta, MD, PhD
Professor of Neurobiology

Animals in the wild engage with the environment through complex self-directed behaviors. Brains then build internal cognitive models that enable useful predictions about the statistical structure of the world. However, the role that naturalistic behavior plays in shaping cognitive models has remained unclear. The Datta lab wishes to address how the brain uses sensation to inform action, how the brain uses action to more effectively sense the world, and how the brain integrates information about sensation and action to meaningfully interact with the environment. The main hypothesis of the laboratory is that we can gain leverage on this set of problems by studying neural circuits that underlie spontaneously-generated behaviors in unrestrained animals — in other words, by exploring neural circuits in which sensation and ongoing action are necessarily intertwined. Given that olfaction is the primary sense used by most animals to communicate with their environment, we focus on characterizing odor information as it propagates through the olfactory system to drive complex solitary and social behaviors and facilitate learning. Conversely, we ask how motor systems interpret organized representations of the sensory environment to compose ongoing, moment-to-moment behavioral sequences that aid in understanding the sensory environment and ultimately allow animals to survive in a complex world.

Publications View
Mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 Associated Anosmia.
Authors: Authors: Tsukahara T, Brann DH, Datta SR.
Physiol Rev
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Keypoint-MoSeq: parsing behavior by linking point tracking to pose dynamics.
Authors: Authors: Weinreb C, Osman MAM, Zhang L, Lin S, Pearl J, Annapragada S, Conlin E, Gillis WF, Jay M, Ye S, Mathis A, Mathis MW, Pereira T, Linderman SW, Datta SR.
bioRxiv
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Mouse spontaneous behavior reflects individual variation rather than estrous state.
Authors: Authors: Levy DR, Hunter N, Lin S, Robinson EM, Gillis W, Conlin EB, Anyoha R, Shansky RM, Datta SR.
Curr Biol
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ArMo: An Articulated Mesh Approach for Mouse 3D Reconstruction.
Authors: Authors: Bohnslav JP, Osman MAM, Jaggi A, Soares S, Weinreb C, Datta SR, Harvey CD.
bioRxiv
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Hidden behavioral fingerprints in epilepsy.
Authors: Authors: Gschwind T, Zeine A, Raikov I, Markowitz JE, Gillis WF, Felong S, Isom LL, Datta SR, Soltesz I.
Neuron
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Spontaneous behaviour is structured by reinforcement without explicit reward.
Authors: Authors: Markowitz JE, Gillis WF, Jay M, Wood J, Harris RW, Cieszkowski R, Scott R, Brann D, Koveal D, Kula T, Weinreb C, Osman MAM, Pinto SR, Uchida N, Linderman SW, Sabatini BL, Datta SR.
Nature
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Persistent post-COVID-19 smell loss is associated with immune cell infiltration and altered gene expression in olfactory epithelium.
Authors: Authors: Finlay JB, Brann DH, Abi Hachem R, Jang DW, Oliva AD, Ko T, Gupta R, Wellford SA, Moseman EA, Jang SS, Yan CH, Matsunami H, Tsukahara T, Datta SR, Goldstein BJ.
Sci Transl Med
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Automated preclinical detection of mechanical pain hypersensitivity and analgesia.
Authors: Authors: Zhang Z, Roberson DP, Kotoda M, Boivin B, Bohnslav JP, González-Cano R, Yarmolinsky DA, Lenfers Turnes R, Wimalasena NK, Neufeld SQ, Barrett L, Quintão NLM, Fattori V, Taub DG, Wiltschko AB, Andrews N, Harvey CD, Datta SR, Woolf CJ.
Pain
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Pseudotumor Cerebri Syndrome With COVID-19: A Case Series.
Authors: Authors: Mukharesh L, Bouffard MA, Fortin E, Brann DH, Datta SR, Prasad S, Chwalisz BK.
J Neuroophthalmol
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Persistent post-COVID-19 smell loss is associated with inflammatory infiltration and altered olfactory epithelial gene expression.
Authors: Authors: Finlay JB, Brann DH, Abi-Hachem R, Jang DW, Oliva AD, Ko T, Gupta R, Wellford SA, Moseman EA, Jang SS, Yan CH, Matusnami H, Tsukahara T, Datta SR, Goldstein BJ.
bioRxiv
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