Proper neuronal circuit function depends fundamentally on the balance of neuromodulators, a set of neurotransmitters released widely throughout the brain.
Almost every mental disorder, including anxiety and depression, that affect one out of four Europeans, are associated with a neuromodulatory imbalance in specific sub-circuits. Elucidating the role of different neuromodulatory inputs to specific brain regions holds the keys to understanding and treating mood disorders.
The amygdala plays an essential role in the processing of emotional stimuli and salience, ranging from reward to threat and synaptic alterations in this region are critical for learning and emotional processing. Amygdala is innervated by every major neuromodulator, yet surprisingly little is known about the activity of these inputs under physiological conditions and how neuromodulation regulates amygdala circuit activity during different behavioral states and learning.
In this work, we studied the functional role of neuromodulatory inputs to the amygdala circuitry.
Towards this goal, we combined our experience in large-scale electrophysiology and modern genetic tools and neurotechnologies to record and manipulate the activity of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and acetylcholine inputs to the amygdala during behavior in behaving mice. Using this approach, we characterized the influence of neuromodulators in the amygdala and demonstrated their role in defining network activity, behavioral state, and learning.
The fellowship contributed to our basic understanding of the interplay between two core brain systems, while it provide me with a unique opportunity to expand my expertise and establish the foundations of my future career as an independent group leader.
