Measuring whole brain activity during behaviour

Research Opportunity
PhD students, Honours students, Master of Biomedical Science
Number of Honour Places Available
1
Number of Master Places Available
1
Primary Supervisor Email Number Webpage
A/Prof Lucy Palmer lucy.palmer@florey.edu.au

Summary The Neural Networks group uses various techniques to record from neurons in vivo including two photon calcium imaging, somatic and dendritic patch-clamp electrophysiology and optogenetics. Through this work, we investigate how sensory information is received, transformed and modulated in neurons, but also how this processing of synaptic input contributes to the overall neural network activity underlying learning and behaviour. 

Project Details

Understanding how the brain forms memories is currently one of the most important questions in neuroscience. Memory formation is a critical aspect of survival – we must learn and remember all aspects of our life, from facial recognition, to food location/source. However, how the brain encodes memories is largely unknown and the focus of this project. 
Here, memory formation and cortical activity during learning and decision making will be addressed using a widefield microscope which enables the surface of the entire mouse cortex to be measured. Here, using transgenetic mice with genetic calcium indicators, neural activity from multiple brain regions will be measured and compared while a mouse is learning a decision-based task. Involved brain regions will be perturbed using optogenetics, and the effect on the learned behaviour will be measured. 
The results from this study will measure dendritic and neural properties of neurons which experienced increased activity during the formation of a memory. 

Research Opportunities

PhD students, Honours students, Master of Biomedical Science
Students who are interested in joining this project will need to consider their elegibility as well as other requirements before contacting the supervisor of this research

Graduate Research application

Honours application

Key Contact

For further information about this research, please contact a supervisor.

MDHS Research library
Explore by researcher, school, project or topic.