Research

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Completed Research Projects

  • Project 3
  • Project 2
  • Project 1

Neuromodulation of hippocampal networks by acetylcholine and oxytocin

This work is under revision for publication, it isa part of my Postdoctoral study. [Link will be added soon.]

Significance:

Postulated role of subcortical neuromodulators is to control brain states. How the different neuromodulators compete and cooperate at the temporal scales of network changes have remained a major question. We investigated how fluctuation of Ach and OXT levels correlate with brain state changes and interact with each other, using G-protein-coupled receptor activation-based acetylcholine (GRABACh3.0, GRABrACh1.4) and oxytocin (GRABOXT1.7) sensors with a fiber-photometric fluorescence readout in mice. While these neuromodulators worked in parallel during NREM packets, transitions from NREM to REM were characterized by a surge of Ach and a further decrease of OXT. High Ach was correlated with population synchrony and gamma oscillations during active wakingsharp wave ripples (SPW-R) of immobility and NREM were associated with minima of Ach signal. Optogenetic control of Ach and OXT neuron confirmed the active role of these neuromodulators in the observed correlations. OXT signaling lagged behind Ach. Synchronous activity of hippocampal population consistently reduced OXT activity, mediated by the lateral septum-hypothalamus inhibitory path. Our findings demonstrate how cooperative actions of these neuromodulators allow target circuits to perform specific functions.

Cholinergic suppression of hippocampal sharp-wave ripples impairs working memory

This work is published as a part of my Postdoctoral study in PNAS. Link .

Significance:

Learning and memory are assumed to be supported by mechanisms that involve cholinergic transmission and hippocampal theta. Using G protein–coupled receptor-activation–based acetylcholine sensor (GRABACh3.0) with a fiber-photometric fluorescence readout in mice, we found that cholinergic signaling in the hippocampus increased in parallel with theta/gamma power during walking and REM sleep, while ACh3.0 signal reached a minimum during hippocampal sharp-wave ripples (SPW-R). Unexpectedly, memory performance was impaired in a hippocampus-dependent spontaneous alternation task by selective optogenetic stimulation of medial septal cholinergic neurons when the stimulation was applied in the delay area but not in the central (choice) arm of the maze. Parallel with the decreased performance, optogenetic stimulation decreased the incidence of SPW-Rs. These findings suggest that septo–hippocampal interactions play a task-phase–dependent dual role in the maintenance of memory performance, including not only theta mechanisms but also SPW-Rs.

This work is published as a part of my PhD study in Journal of Neuroscience. Link .

Significance:

The septo-hippocampal cholinergic system is critical for hippocampal learning and memory. However, a quantitative description of the in vivo firing patterns and physiological function of medial septal (MS) cholinergic neurons is still missing. In this study, we combined optogenetics with multichannel in vivo recording and recorded MS cholinergic neuron firings in freely behaving male mice for 5.5–72 h. We found that their firing activities were highly correlated with hippocampal theta states. MS cholinergic neurons were highly active during theta-dominant epochs, such as active exploration and rapid eye movement sleep, but almost silent during nontheta epochs, such as slow-wave sleep (SWS). Interestingly, optogenetic activation of these MS cholinergic neurons during SWS suppressed CA1 ripple oscillations. This suppression could be rescued by muscarinic M2 or M4 receptor antagonists. These results suggest the following important physiological function of MS cholinergic neurons: maintaining high hippocampal acetylcholine level by persistent firing during theta epochs, consequently suppressing ripples and allowing theta oscillations to dominate.


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Did you come here for something in particular or just general Riker-bashing? And blowing into maximum warp speed, you appeared for an instant to be in two places at once. We have a saboteur aboard. We know you’re dealing in stolen ore. But I wanna talk about the assassination attempt on Lieutenant Worf.

I wanna talk about the assassination attempt

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We know you’re dealing in stolen ore

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