How does the brain work? What are the kind of computations carried out by neural systems? We try to address these questions by analyzing recordings of neural activity and constructing mathematical models of neural circuits. Our main goal is to link the activity within various brain areas to a computational theory of animal behavior. We are currently developing methods to summarize the activity of neural populations in useful ways and to compare population activity across areas. In turn, we seek to relate the population activity to behavioral, computational, and mechanistic problems or constraints that organisms are facing. We work in close collaboration with several experimental labs, both within and outside of the CCU.