The lateral septum as an interface between hippocampus and behaviour

Examine the role of the hippocampo-prefrontal-subcortical circuit in adaptive and dysfunctional behaviour and cognition. Two main topics of our research include:
Hippocampal learning-behaviour translation: Which prefrontal and subcortical regions contribute to behaviour based on hippocampus-dependent place learning, and by which mechanisms?
Importance of GABAergic neuronal inhibition and of balanced neural activity: Imbalanced neural activity within the hippocampal-prefrontal-subcortical circuit, caused by changes in inhibitory GABA transmission, has come to the fore in important brain disorders, including age-related cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and Tourette's syndrome. What is the functional significance of GABAergic inhibition within this circuit and what are the cognitive and behavioural effects of imbalanced neural activity? Can they explain symptoms characterizing these disorders?

We will combine a wide range of neuroscience methods in rats. We will combine neuropharmacological modulation of specific brain regions by intracerebral drug microinfusions with translational tests of specific cognitive and behavioural functions (including learning and memory, attention, behavioural flexibility, fear, sensorimotor processes). In vivo electrophysiological methods will be used to characterise changes in neural activity patterns and interactions between relevant brain sites. Students will have the opportunity to work with computational neuroscientists to synthesise experimental findings into neuro-computational models or to use advanced analytical methods to analyse our experimental data; to apply 'translational' brain imaging methods to characterise neuronal network changes in a way that enables direct comparison to human brain imaging studies; to apply modern neural tract tracing methods (involving 'clarity' and light-sheet microscopy) and chemo-/pharmacogenetic methods for neuron-type specific manipulations.