Current Research

The ability to form and store memories is what holds our personal history and makes it possible to grow and change throughout life. The central role of cognitive abilities in the life on an individual is further evidenced by the devastating consequences of, on one hand cognitive decline associated with aging and neurodegenerative disorders and, on the other hand, maladaptive persistent memories that characterize certain psychiatric disorders.

In our group we aim at understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern the formation and maintenance of memory and their dysfunction during aging and pathology. It is known that to consolidate new information into memory, de novo gene transcription and protein synthesis is required. However, how the environmental stimuli are integrated in order to elicit the genomic responses that underlie the neurons’ long-lasting changes required for memory formation is not fully understood. Moreover, what drives the persistent storage of some memories is unknown. Finally, the underlying mechanisms of aging-dependent cognitive decline and pathological conditions associated with cognitive dysfunction remains poorly investigated. In my group we aim at shedding light on these questions.

We take an interdisciplinary approach that ranges from molecular to behavioral analysis.

Fig1
The picture represents the neurons of the hippocampus dentate gyrus that were active during the exposure to a novel environment. The subpopulation of neurons that is active during a new experience is thought to hold the memory for that particular experience. The activated neurons express the green fluorescent protein GFP.
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Latest Revision: 2021-06-23
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