Memory circuits
In order to lastingly store memories, our brain has to translate neuronal activity patterns into lasting structural correlates. It forms connections between specific neurons and thereby generate so called memory circuits. When re-activated, these “engrams” allow us to retrieve the previously stored information.
We investigate not only the natural behaviorally relevant memory circuits in learning and memory but also pathology relevant circuits that underlay certain neuropsychiatric disorders. We are interested in cellular and molecular events of neuronal memory allocation to their genetic manipulation in different brain regions especially hippocampus, amygdala and cortical areas.
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Representative microscopic intake of a double transgenic daring mouse, which activated (red ß-gal+) during the training of fear memory and activated when the fear memory is called up(Green CFOS+) Neurons in the dental gyrus. An example of a so-called memory engram can be seen in the Merge image (scale bars 10 µm). |
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Publications
Raza SA ; Klinger K ; Ángel M ; Demiray YE ; Caliskan G; Kreutz MR; Stork O. Fear engrams and NPYergic circuit in the dorsal dentate gyrus determine remote fear memory generalization. bioRxiv. 2022
Mikhaylova M, Bär J, van Bommel B, Schätzle P, YuanXiang P, Raman R, Hradsky J, Konietzny A, Loktionov EY, Reddy PP, Lopez-Rojas J, Spilker C, Kobler O, Raza SA, Stork O, Hoogenraad CC, Kreutz MR. Caldendrin Directly Couples Postsynaptic Calcium Signals to Actin Remodeling in Dendritic Spines. Neuron. 2018 Feb 20. pii: S0896-6273(18)30071-0.
Raza SA, Albrecht A, Çalışkan G, Müller B, Demiray YE, Ludewig S, Meis S, Faber N, Hartig R, Schraven B, Lessmann V, Schwegler H, Stork O. HIPP neurons in the dentate gyrus mediate the cholinergic modulation of background context memory salience. Nat Commun. 2017 Aug; 8(1):189.
Çalışkan G, Müller I, Semtner M, Winkelmann A, Raza AS, Hollnagel JO, Rösler A, Heinemann U, Stork O, Meier JC. Identification of Parvalbumin Interneurons as Cellular Substrate of Fear Memory Persistence. Cereb Cortex. 2016 May;26(5):2325-40.
Funding
Collaborative Research Center 1436, project A07: Orexinergic modulation of neural resources
PIs: Prof. Dr. Oliver Stork, Prof. Dr. Anne Albrecht
Researchers: Dr. Gürsel Çalişkan
Collaborative Research Center 1436, project Z01: Funktional neural circuit analysis and small animal imaging in vivo
PIs: Prof. Dr. Oliver Stork, Dr. Michael Kreutz, Prof. Dr. Frank Angenstein
PIs: Prof. Dr. Oliver Stork