SCSB Colloquium Series with Dr. Kuan Hong Wang: Neuromodulation of Circuit Plasticity: From Adaptive Behavior to Precision Therapeutics

Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2026
Location: 46-3002 (Singleton Auditorium)
Time: 4:00pm-5:00pm ET, followed by reception

Speaker: Kuan Hong Wang, Ph.D.
Affiliation: Dean’s Professor of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center

Host: Dr. Fan Wang

Talk title: Neuromodulation of Circuit Plasticity: From Adaptive Behavior to Precision Therapeutics

Abstract: How do neural circuits maintain stable function while remaining flexible enough to adapt? This fundamental question lies at the heart of cognitive flexibility, learning, and resilience across the lifespan. In this lecture, I will discuss how neuromodulatory systems—including dopaminergic, cannabinoid, and neuroimmune signaling—provide the molecular and circuit logic that governs plasticity across development, experience, and disease. Integrating genetic circuit mapping, in vivo imaging, electrophysiology, molecular profiling, and causal circuit manipulation, I will present recent work uncovering how neuromodulators reshape neural circuits across multiple timescales to support adaptive behavior. Finally, I will highlight emerging cross-species approaches, from mice to non-human primates, that enable conserved principles of circuit plasticity to be tested across species and translated toward precision therapeutics. Together, these studies illustrate how deciphering the logic of adaptive behavior can guide the development of selective circuit-based therapies for brain disorders.