The primary focus of my lab is to better understand the mediators of brain plasticity that allow the organism to adapt to the challenges and demands encountered within its environment. Specifically, my research examines how aberrant changes in plasticity contribute to or exacerbate neuropsychiatric and neurological conditions.
One of the most striking examples of structural plasticity within the adult brain is the continual generation of new neurons in specific brain regions, such as the hippocampus—a structure critical for learning and memory. A core focus of my work examines how changes in the rate of adult neurogenesis impacts behavior, and in particular how the abnormal integration and function of newborn neurons alters the development of clinical diseases, such as depression and epilepsy. Current and future studies are aimed at: 1) identifying the transcriptional/cell-signaling events that regulate the activity of neural stem cells; 2) determining the signals that direct neuronal migration and the synaptic development of newborn neurons; and 3) examining how the integration of adult-born neurons impacts and guides behavior under normal and pathological states.
