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Our team investigates the connections between neuronal plasticity and long-lasting changes in neuronal networks. A particular focus is on how synaptic connections are adapted to store new information. We look at neuronal networks on different scales and investigate how pathological changes manifest themselves in the dysfunction of these neuronal networks. Here, we use and develop state-of-the-art optical and optogenetic methods to specifically study selected populations of synapses and neurons in specific brain areas.
Our research group focuses on the extent to which synaptic connections and synaptic plasticity are used to store information in the brain. We try to understand how functional and structural changes at different network levels influence cognitive processes.
Our research interests focus on neuromodulators of the central nervous system, in particular dopamine and noradrenaline. We investigate how these neurotransmitters affect the global state of excitement and neuronal networks of the brain, as well as synaptic plasticity and behavior.
We are interested in developing new methods, including software and hardware, for interrogation of the brain with a focus on genetically encoded fluorescent indicators and optogenetics, spanning from relatively simple photometry techniques up to the analysis of the activity of thousands of neurons. New experimental paradigms foster our ability to understand how computation occurs in the brain in different conditions and ultimately reveal underlying computational models.
Fear and trauma can generate extremely long-lasting memories that are difficult to extinguish, which explains the susceptibility to relapse. This is true in both humans and animals. However, the vast majority of animal studies examine the encoding of recent fear memory (1 day old) and its extinction already one day later, because remote fear memory (4 weeks old) is nearly impossible to extinguish. Resistance of long-term fear memory is likely due to a distinct storage mechanism compared with recent fear memory.
