Supervisors: Matthew Nolan, James Ainge

Project Description:

Episodic memory systems store the details of personal events from our past. How experiences are stored as episodic memories are across brain circuits is a major unanswered question. This project will identify and manipulate the changes in neural circuits that mediate storage of episodic memories. The focus will be on changes that take place in a part of the brain called the entorhinal cortex, which is a key site for formation of associations important for episodic memory.

Training will be provided in rodent models for investigation of memory, genetically encoded tools for marking activated neural circuits, optogenetic tools for manipulation of neural circuits, electrophysiological recording methods, whole-brain imaging and advanced data analysis tools.

References:

Sürmeli G., Marcu D-C., McClure C., Garden D.L.F., Pastoll H. & Nolan M.F. (2015). Molecularly defined circuitry reveals input-output segregation in deep layers of the medial entorhinal cortex. Neuron 88(5):1040-1053. PMCID: 4675718.

Tennant S.A., Fischer L., Garden D.L.F., Gerlei K.Z., Martinez-Gonzalez C., McClure C., Wood E.R. & Nolan M.F. (2018). Stellate cells in the medial entorhinal cortex are required for spatial learning. Cell Reports, 22(5): 1313-1324.
Wilson, D.I.G., Watanabe, S., Milner, H., Ainge, J. A., 2013. Lateral entorhinal cortex is necessary for associative but not nonassociative recognition memory. Hippocampus 23, 1280–1290. doi:10.1002/hipo.22165

If you wish to apply for this project, please check this link and send your application to this email.