Research.
What we do.
We investigate the maladaptation of neuronal circuits that process innate stressors to understand the synaptic and circuit mechanisms that scale stress susceptibility. As of today, very little is known about how circuits re-rout information in anxiety states. Our vision is to use our findings to provide therapeutic targets for the development of effective treatments of mood disorders.
(All-optical voltage imaging in PAG)
Methods.
We use all-optical voltage imaging and electrophysiology to investigate synaptic connections and our lab developed combined molecular approaches (Voltage-Seq, Patch-Seq) to identify the involved neurons and to reveal the molecular mechanisms that play a role in the maladaptation of circuits in anxiety.
All optical physiology
Histology
Optogenetics
Patch-seq
Voltage-seq
Our projects.
Postsynaptic connectome maladaptation in PTSD
Anxiety disorders, such post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), represent the highest proportion of mental disorders. In all these conditions, there is an underlying, long-lasting change in the circuits that respond to danger. The critical neuronal types and their imbalanced circuit connectivity resulting in different susceptibility and maladaptation in PTSD are poorly understood. We study predator cue-induced synaptic connectome remodelling to understand the connectivity correlates of PTSD.
Voltage-Seq: All-optical postsynaptic connectome-guided single-cell transcriptomics
Understanding the routing of neuronal information requires the functional characterization of connections. Neuronal projections recruit large postsynaptic ensembles with distinct postsynaptic response types. All-optical voltage imaging can capture the interplay of long-range synaptic inputs, local connectivity, and intrinsic properties of postsynaptic neurons. We use Voltage-Seq to resolve the molecular identity of the postsynaptic neurons to understand the architecture of circuit motifs.
Funding.
