neurochemistry

Dynamic neurochemistry in conscious humans during stereoEEG monitoring

Rodents to Investigate the Neural Basis of Audiovisual Temporal Processing and Perception

To form a coherent perception of the world around us, we are constantly processing and integrating sensory information from multiple modalities. In fact, when auditory and visual stimuli occur within ~100 ms of each other, individuals tend to perceive the stimuli as a single event, even though they occurred separately. In recent years, our lab, and others, have developed rat models of audiovisual temporal perception using behavioural tasks such as temporal order judgments (TOJs) and synchrony judgments (SJs). While these rodent models demonstrate metrics that are consistent with humans (e.g., perceived simultaneity, temporal acuity), we have sought to confirm whether rodents demonstrate the hallmarks of audiovisual temporal perception, such as predictable shifts in their perception based on experience and sensitivity to alterations in neurochemistry. Ultimately, our findings indicate that rats serve as an excellent model to study the neural mechanisms underlying audiovisual temporal perception, which to date remains relativity unknown. Using our validated translational audiovisual behavioural tasks, in combination with optogenetics, neuropharmacology and in vivo electrophysiology, we aim to uncover the mechanisms by which inhibitory neurotransmission and top-down circuits finely control ones’ perception. This research will significantly advance our understanding of the neuronal circuitry underlying audiovisual temporal perception, and will be the first to establish the role of interneurons in regulating the synchronized neural activity that is thought to contribute to the precise binding of audiovisual stimuli.

From function to cognition: New spectroscopic tools for studying brain neurochemistry in-vivo

In this seminar, I will present new methods in magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) we’ve been working on in the lab. The talk will be divided into two parts. In the first, I will talk about neurochemical changes we observe in glutamate and GABA during various paradigms, including simple motors tasks and reinforcement learning. In the second part, I’ll present a new approach to MRS that focuses on measuring the relaxation times (T1, T2) of metabolites, which reflect changes to specific cellular microenvironments. I will explain why these can be exciting markers for studying several in-vivo pathologies, and also present some preliminary data from a cohort of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, showing changes that correlate to cognitive decline.

Early life maternal attachment governs murine epigenetic architecture of the hippocampus and modifies adulthood neurochemistry and social behavior

The Neurochemistry of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Long-COVID: a Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy study at 7 Tesla

Simulated microgravity remodels the neurochemistry of monoaminergic systems across the rat brain

Studies on Hippocampal Histoarchitecture and Neurochemistry in Psychologically Stressed Rats Given Gut Microbiome Supplementation

Effect of RNA m6A methyltransferase activation on anxiety- and depression-related behaviours, monoamine neurochemistry, and striatal gene expression in the rat

FENS Forum 2024

Neurochemistry and functional connectivity of the nucleus incertus–ventral hippocampal pathway: Possible involvement in anxiety control in rats and humans

FENS Forum 2024