“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”

Albert Einstein

Research Unit 5159

Our environment is constantly changing. Successful survival under these conditions implies that our behavior has to be flexible as well. We experience different places and contexts, have to conduct different tasks in a rapid sequence and need to constantly develop and re-arrange acting strategies. These abilities are not inherited, but develop with age and their regression forms the core of several pathologies. It is commonly held that in mammalian species the prefrontal cortex is the hub brain area accounting for the flexibility of minds (i.e. cognitive flexibility).

The Research Unit 5159 has been launched in January 2022. Our mission is to decipher the dynamic principles of prefrontal processing underlying cognitive flexibility.

Upcoming Events

Title: Functional maturation of Layer 1 inhibitory interneurons in the sensory cortex.



Short Summary: Dysregulation of inhibition is one of the hallmarks of neuropsychiatric disorders, often resulting in sensory and cognitive deficits. A central question is how sensory experience during development influences the connectivity and function of inhibitory neurons during cortical sensory processing. We are particularly interested in how inhibitory interneurons in the auditory and visual cortices integrate bottom-up sensory inputs together with top-down feedback and influence ongoing sensory processing. Higher order projections to sensory cortical areas converge on layer 1 (L1), the primary site for integration of top-down information via the apical dendrites of pyramidal neurons and L1 cortical interneurons (cINs). We examined the integration of bottom-up sensory inputs from the thalamus and higher-order projections from the anterior cingulate cortex onto the L1 cINs in the primary visual cortex (V1). We discovered that during development, thalamic inputs predominantly target NDNF+ L1 cINs cells and are crucial for the later enhancement of top-down connectivity. Interestingly, these projections were found to be critical for the subsequent strengthening of top-down inputs from the anterior cingulate cortex. Sensory deprivation or selective removal of thalamic afferents blocked this phenomenon, while early activation of the anterior cingulate cortex resulted in a premature strengthening of these top-down afferents, which was dependent on thalamic inputs. Additionally, our longitudinal 2-photon calcium imaging from neonatal stages to adulthood in the mouse V1 revealed the dynamic activity of these cells in response to both external sensory stimuli and internal state dependent signals. Similarly, we investigated the responses of L1 and L2/3 neurons in the auditory cortex. Our results outline a framework for the experience-dependent maturation of top-down processing in sensory cortices and its disruption in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Awards and Achievements

Burkhart Bromm-Promotionspreis 2022 awarded to Dr. Jastyn A. Pöpplau

Thomas Bayes-Nachwuchsförderpreis 2022 awarded to Dr. Artur Schneider

Image source: Patrick Seeger/Universität Freiburg

Thomas Bayes-Nachwuchsförderpreis: Herausragende Abschlussarbeiten (Masterarbeiten, Promotionen) auf dem Gebiet der Datenanalyse und Modellbildung in den Lebenswissenschaften. Preisgeld 5.000 Euro.

Bernstein-CorTec-Award 2022 awarded to Dr. Artur Schneider

                                                                  Image source: Patrick Seeger/Universität Freiburg

Bernstein-CorTec-Award: Hervorragende wissenschaftliche Leistungen in Promotionen oder Masterarbeiten von Promovierenden oder Studierenden der Universität Freiburg in einem für Computational Neuroscience und Neurotechnologie relevanten Thema. Preisgeld 1.000 Euro.

Publications

Conjoint generalized and trajectory-specific coding of task structure by prefrontal neurons

Cell Reports

Trajectories of working memory and decision making abilities along juvenile development in mice

Frontiers Neuroscience

A Retrospective Report of Carprofen Administration as Post-Operative Analgesia Reveals Negative Effects of Recommended Doses

Animals (Basel)