Research activities of the new laboratory are focused on two main topics. Studying neural mechanisms of impaired social behaviors involves standardization of a battery of high-throughput behavioral measures, characterization of neuronal circuits governing socially transferred emotions and validation of tissue-specific therapeutic intervention using mice models of synaptopathies relevant to autism spectrum disorders. In another line of studies we study the brain circuits and cellular mechanisms underlying extinction and renewal of aversive memories. These studies aim at understanding how dysfunction in these circuits contributes to anxiety disorders as well as the factors that determine efficiency of exposure tharapies.