Topic: neurogenetics

We study the larval stages of the marine annelid Platynereis dumerilii, a powerful experimental system for neural circuits. With serial electron microscopy, we have reconstructed the entire nervous and effector systems of a Platynereis larva. We use neurogenetics, activity imaging, and behavioural experiments to understand circuit activity and how the nervous system controls behaviour and physiology. Platynereis is one of very few systems where these different approaches can be combined to study an entire nervous system. I will talk about circuits for the whole-body coordination of locomotor c

We are interested in understanding how microbes impact the behavior of host animals. Animal nervous systems likely evolved in environments richly surrounded by microbes, yet the impact of bacteria on nervous system function has been relatively under-studied. A challenge has been to identify systems in which both host and microbe are amenable to genetic manipulation, and which enable high-throughput behavioral screening in response to defined and naturalistic conditions. To accomplish these goals, we use an animal host — the roundworm C. elegans, which feeds on bacteria — in combination with it

During histogenesis of the cerebral cortex, a proper laminar placement of defined numbers of specific cellular types is necessary to ensure proper functional connectivity patterns. There is a wide range of cortical malformations causing epilepsy and intellectual disability in humans, characterized with various degrees of neuronal misplacement, aberrant circuit organization or abnormal folding patterns. Although progress in human neurogenetics and brain imaging techniques have considerably advanced the identification of their causative genes, the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with de