Research interests

 

  • The mammalian brain continues to produce neurons throughout adult life. This capacity for continued neurogenesis originates from progenitor cells located to brain regions such as the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Adult neurogenesis gives rise to functionally integrated neurons which may subserve brain functions. Using complementary behavioral, pharmacological, histological, viral and confocal imaging tools, our goal is to decipher whether and how new granular neurons may contribute to the mechanisms that underlie learning and memory processes in the mammalian brain. In particular, our group is using integrated top-down and bottom-up approaches to study how newborn neurons are recruited into neuronal networks and contribute to the formation of long-lasting spatial memories. We are also interested in the relationships existing between hippocampal neurogenesis and memory impairment as seen during normal and pathological aging. Indeed, with advancing age, the rate of hippocampal neurogenesis decreases dramatically and might contribute to the cognitive decline that accompanies senescence in animals and humans. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly and is characterized by severe cognitive impairments such as failure to form new memories. Because Alzheimer’s disease is also a neurodegenerative disease, the endogenous reservoir of neural stem cells capable of proliferating may represent an endogenous brain-repair mechanism, the further stimulation of which could have a therapeutic potential. Using transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, we examine the putative links between impaired learning and memory, altered plasticity and hippocampal neurogenesis during Alzheimer’s disease. We also investigate how endogenous precursors may be used to compensate for neuronal cell loss in the adult brain.

 

Fundings

Prix de la Fondation France Alzheimer, Equipes Sciences Médicales 2008-2011
ANR MALZ 2010-2014
ANR BORNA PHOSPHO PATH 2010-2013
Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Cerveau 2009