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Research
Neuronal activity in depression
Depression is ranked as one of the world's most burdensome diseases affecting millions of people. But what actually happens in the brain when a depression develops? What changes on a neuronal level when and where? And which changes in neuronal networks are being reversed when we take antidepressiva? To address these questions we are recording the activity of hundreds of neurons simultaneously using two-photon calcium imaging while a depression manifests and is treated.
Neuronal networks of olfaction
In collaboration with Jakob von Engelhardt
The propagation of activity in our brain is largely mediated by AMPA receptors. Proteins like CKAMP44 (von Engelhardt et al. 2010) modulate the activity of AMPA receptors - and with that the way the brain processes information. The olfactory bulb, where olfactory information is proceesed, shows a particularly high expression of CKAMP44 in some of its neurons. Using a CKAMP44 knockout model and two-photon calcium imaging we want to see how CKAMP44 affects how we smell by modulating AMPA receptors in the olfactory bulb.
The role of 5-HT3 receptors in cortical networks
In collaboration with Jakob von Engelhardt
The function of serotonin (5-HT) in the body is complex. In the brain, the presence of serotonin modulates how our neurons work through a large number of different 5-HT receptors. Only one of them, the 5-HT3 receptor, is a ligand-gated ion channels. The role of this receptor on network activity is largerly unknown. Using two-photon calcium imaging, optogenetics and behavior we want to understand the role of the 5-HT3 receptor in cortical circuits.