Our lab is interested in studying the prefrontal cortex, how it contributes to the regulation of complex behaviors, and how how stress alters prefrontal circuits. Our two main lines of research focus on:
- Adolescent maturation of the prefrontal GABAergic cortex, its role in the acquisition of adult socail and cognitive functions, and stress-induced risk for cognitive impairments, as seen in schizophrenia.
- Adult functioning of the prefrontal GABAergic system and its role in the regulation of emotions. We also use stress models to study how prefrontal deregulations contribute to anxiety and depression in male and female mice.
Approach:
We use a variety of techniques to answer our research questions:
- Conventional and conditional knockout mice
- Behavioral assays and manipulations in mice to assess social, emotional and cognitive functions, and to induce environmental modifications.
- Brain surgery to provide pharmacological treatments into the specific brain regions of mice.
- Neuronanatomical techniques on brain tissue such as stereological cell counting, immunohistochemical and immunoflurorescent staining.
- Molecular biology such as Western blot, RT-qPCR, ELISA.
- Chemogenetics (DREADD) to temporarily and spatially control the activity of specific neuronal population during various behavioral tasks.