To learn and control behaviour, transient patterns of brain activity must be preserved in the form of long-lasting morphological and biochemical changes (‘memory consolidation’). We are interested in the molecular processes that mediate the formation of these network activity patterns, particularly via GABAergic local circuit neurons, during memory formation and retrieval and how they encode the specificity and salience of the information to be stored. To this end we combine in depth behavioral analysis with in vivo and ex vivo electrophysiology, high resolution gene expression analysis, as well as genetic and pharmacogenetic intervention. Cell culture and genetic models allow us to gain mechanistic insight into these processes at the cellular and intracellular level. Together, these tools enable us to investigate the neurobiological basis of neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders.
