NEWS (for more news click tab NEWS above)
Feb 16 2021
Guyon N et al. x2 are out!
Adult trkB signaling in pavalbumin interneurons is essential to prefrontal network dynamics.
BDNF/trkB signaling promotes the maturation of inhibitory PV interneurons – neurons central to local cortical dynamics, gamma rhythms, and cognition. Here, we used a novel viral approach for reduced BDNF/trkB signaling in PV interneurons in the mPFC to establish the role of BDNF/trkB signaling in adult prefrontal network activities. Reduced BDNF/trkB signaling caused pronounced morphological alterations, reduced PV inhibition, and deficient prefrontal network dynamics. The altered network activity appeared to manifest across stimuli and brain states and was associated with aberrant LFP activities and increased aggression. The results demonstrate that adult BDNF/trkB signaling is essential to PV inhibition and prefrontal circuit function and directly links BDNF/trkB signaling to network integrity in the adult brain.
Network asynchrony underlying increased broadband gamma power.
Brain oscillations are fundamental to the coordination of neuronal activity across neurons and structures. Gamma oscillations (30-80 Hz) have received particular attention through their association with perceptual and cognitive processes. Synchronous activity of inhibitory PV interneurons generates cortical gamma oscillation, but, paradoxically, PV neuron deficiency is associated with increases in gamma oscillations. We here reconcile this conundrum and show how deficient PV inhibition can lead to increased and asynchronous excitatory firing, contaminating the LFP and manifesting as increased gamma power. Thus, increased gamma power does not always reflect a genuine rhythm. Further, we show that ketamine-induced gamma increases are caused by separate network mechanisms.
Feb 1 2021
Katharina Heining joins the CarlénLab as postdoctoral researcher!
Katharina will work on the project “A functional map of the mouse prefrontal cortex” and is funded by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Wenner-Gren Foundations. Link to the foundation HERE
Welcome Katharina!
Sep 30 2020
The CarlénLab receives 3.0M€ (32.2M SEK) for the project “Brain circuits in decision-making”
from the Knut & Alice Wallenbergs Foundation!
The project will run over 5 years and be conducted in collaboration with the lab of KONSTANTINOS MELETIS. The interactions between the prefrontal cortex and the striatum will be studied with large-scale electrophysiology and calcium imaging in behaving mice.
August 2020
Our study looking at how network asynchrony could underly increased broadband gamma power has been posted on bioXriv. Turns out, as suggested, gamma oscillations as revealed in the LFP does not always reflect a rhythm but can rather be the result of asynchronous and increased firing activities. Furthermore, long-term deficiency of PV inhibition can contribute to desynchronization at multiple time scales.
Check it out here
July 2020
Our study looking at the role of BDNF-trkB signaling in the adult function of PV interneurons and prefrontal network dynamics has been posted on bioXriv.
Check it out here
August 2020
UPDATE: Marina Slashcheva has been selected for the PhD position in the CarlenLab within the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action MSC-ITN-2019 project euSNN, European School of Network Neuroscience, www.eusnn.eu
Welcome Marina!
July 2020
The DMCdrive goes live!
Want to long-term record and manipulate neuronal activity in freely moving mice or rats? Then we strongly recommend going for our DMCdrive holding four movable tetrodes + optical fiber, that can be built from 3D printed parts in 4h without much experience. Very reliable optotagging and recovery of single unit and LFP activities over many days.
Designed by senior researcher Hoseok Kim.
Open access to the publication here.
January 2020
PhD student Sofie Ährlund-Richter defended her thesis “On the neuronal basis of cognition: cell-type specific connectivity and functions of the prefrontal cortex”.
Opponent: Professor Cyril Herry, Bordeaux Neurocampus
Link: Cyril Herry
December 2019
Marie Carlén appointed Wallenberg Scholar!
“The Wallenberg Scholar program focuses on Sweden’s leading senior researchers. It was implemented because researchers need long-term funding without the distraction of pressure to secure external grants in order to carry out world-class research”.