The Newman laboratory focuses on understanding how the brain encodes the emotional states that orchestrate social interactions and how social experiences influence future behaviors. To answer these questions, we rely on strategic experimental designs that combine ethological behavioral assays with in vivo single-cell calcium imaging, optogenetics, all-optical closed loop neuromodulation, chemogenetics, site-specific mutagenesis, whole-brain activity mapping, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization. These experiments allow us to identify and modulate neural activity patterns that shape social interactions across different timescales. We are particularly interested in breaking cycles of violence, a goal that demands a deeper understanding of the biological bases of trauma and aggression.