About Me

I’m a neuroscientist studying neural substrates of adaptive learning and decision-making. I use a range of tools, such as behavioral tasks, optogenetics, electrophysiology, in-vivo 2-photon imaging, miniature microscopy, fiber photometry, and advanced computational modeling to investigate how the intricate activities of neural circuits encode, store, and retrieve information in guiding adaptive behavior. I am currently a Scientist in the Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics, and my training with Hyungbae Kwon at Johns Hopkins University contributed to the development and application of novel optogenetic and chemogenetic tools, including Cal-Light and iTango.

Research

Mapping the Neural Basis of Learning and Adaptive Behavior | Efficiently processing and retrieving streams of information is a critical adaptive ability that allows humans to reflect on, engage with, and respond to complex, dynamic environments. My research focuses on how mammalian brains navigate and encode moment-to-moment experiences in changing environments to learn behavioral strategies. Contributing to the Allen Institute's large-scale and open science approach, I collaborate with leading scientists to map neural pathways and analyze how these dynamic interactions within brain circuits drive complex and flexible behaviors in mice. By combining behavioral tasks with specific neuromodulation activity measurements and manipulations, I aim to explain the mechanisms by which the brain adapts executive functions - such as encoding, storing, and retrieving information from recent actions - to shape decision-making strategies under conditions of uncertainty and reward processing. Understanding these functional brain dynamics and the pathways that become disrupted could lead to breakthroughs in treating psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.

Publications

• Jung K, Krüssel S, Yoo S, An M, Burke B, Schappaugh N, Choi Y, Gu Z, Blackshaw S, Costa RM Kwon H-B. Dopamine-mediated formation of a memory module in the nucleus accumbens for goal-directed navigation. Nat Neurosci. 2024; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01770-9
• Son S*, Nagahama K*, Lee J*, Jung K*, Kwak C, Kim J, Noh YW, Kim E, Lee S, Kwon H-B, Heo WD. Real-time visualization of structural dynamics of synapses in live cells in vivo. Nat Methods. 2024; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-02122-4 *co-first
• Valtcheva S, Issa HA, Bair-Marshall CJ, Martin KA, Jung K, Zhang Y, Kwon H-B, Froemke RC. Neural circuitry for maternal oxytocin release induced by infant cries. Nature. 2023 Sep;621(7980):788-795. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06540-4
• Jung K, Chang M, Steinecke A, Burke B, Choi D, Oisi Y, Fitzpatrick D, Taniguchi H, Kwon H. An adaptive behavioral control motif mediated by cortical axo-axonic inhibition. Nat Neurosci. 2023; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-023-01380-x
• Jung K*, Choi D*, Kwon H. Cortical control of chandelier cells in neural codes. Front Cell Neurosci. 2022; 16:992409. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2022.992409 *co-first
• Oh WC, Rodríguez G, Asede D, Jung K, Hwang I-W, Ogelman R, Bolton MM, Kwon H-B. Dysregulation of the mesoprefrontal dopamine circuit mediates an early-life stress-induced synaptic imbalance in the prefrontal cortex. Cell Reports. 2021;35(5):109074. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109074
• Mignocchi N, Krüssel S, Jung K, Lee D, Kwon H-B. Development of a genetically-encoded oxytocin sensor. Biorxiv. Published online 2020:2020.07.14.202598. doi:10.1101/2020.07.14.202598
• Jung K, Jeong J, Kralik JD. A Computational Model of Attention Control in Multi-Attribute, Context-Dependent Decision Making. Front Comput Neurosc. 2019;13:40. doi:10.3389/fncom.2019.00040
• Kim J*, Lee S*, Jung K*, Oh WC, Kim N, Son S, Jo Y, Kwon H-B, Heo WD. Intensiometric biosensors visualize the activity of multiple small GTPases in vivo. Nat Commun. 2019;10(1):211. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-08217-3 *co-first
• Lee D, Hyun JH, Jung K, Hannan P, Kwon H-B. A calcium- and light-gated switch to induce gene expression in activated neurons. Nat Biotechnol. 2017;35(9):858-863. doi:10.1038/nbt.3902
• Jang H*, Jung K*, Jeong J, Park SK, Kralik JD, Jeong J. Nucleus accumbens shell moderates preference bias during voluntary choice behavior. Soc Cogn Affect Neur. 2017;12(9):1428 1436. doi:10.1093/scan/nsx072 *co-first
• Lee D*, Creed M*, Jung K*, Stefanelli T, Wendler DJ, Oh WC, Mignocchi NL, Lüscher C, Kwon H-B. Temporally precise labeling and control of neuromodulatory circuits in the mammalian brain. Nat Methods. 2017;14(5):495-503. doi:10.1038/nmeth.4234 *co-first
• Jung K, Jang H, Kralik JD, Jeong J. Bursts and heavy tails in temporal and sequential dynamics of foraging decisions. Plos Comput Biol. 2014;10(8):e1003759. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003759
• Jung K, Kralik JD. Get it while it’s hot: a peak-first bias in self-generated choice order in rhesus macaques. Sueur C, ed. Plos One. 2013;8(12):e83814. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083814