Information processing in the neocortex is carried out by
neuronal circuits composed of different cell types. In
recent years, there have been concerted efforts to generate
a complete catalog of the cell types in the mammalian
brain using single cell transcriptional profiling. This has
revealed a large number of putative cell types that raises
the question as to whether this cell type diversity has
functional significance during behavior. In order to link
these new surveys with brain function, it is necessary to
measure both activity and gene expression patterns of
neuronal populations during behavior. I will describe the
application of new multi-modal tools and optical
methods that allows us to better understand how circuit
components interact with each other to carry out neural
computations related to perception and abstraction.