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Structure-function relationships and plasticity in the rodent hippocampus

Subject Area Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells
Term from 2019 to 2024
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 434556542
 
Final Report Year 2025

Final Report Abstract

The project focused on the cellular mechanisms underlying episodic memory formation. Specifically, the proposed experiments aimed at resolving structure-function relationships (AIM1) and probing plasticity mechanisms (AIM2) of single neurons in the mouse hippocampus. In this project, we identified novel structure-function relationships which contribute to the selective recruitment of hippocampal pyramidal neurons into spatial representations and into memory-related, patterned network activity. To optimally address our experimental questions, we have also established novel opto-juxtacellular technology for targeting, labelling and stimulating single neurons in freely-moving animals and for probing plasticity mechanisms during ethologically-relevant behavioral state fluctuations. In the latter research line, we found that behavioral states are gain-encoded within a dedicated subset of place cells, and modulate hippocampal oscillatory dynamics and plasticity. Additional research lines are currently focusing on complementary aspects of hippocampal coding, namely object- and social-representations in CA2 and the Fasciola Cinera. In summary, the above research has contributed to our understanding of the neural basis of episodic memory by shedding light onto structure-function relationships and plasticity mechanisms of hippocampal neurons during ethologically relevant behavioral states.

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