Matthias Prigge

Group Leader of Plasticity of Neuromodulatory Networks at the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg

Our team is interested to understand how levels of neuromodulators such as dopamine, serotonin or norepinephrine are fluctuating in the brain. An altered neuromodulation is linked to many psychiatric disorders, but also influences everyday cognitive performance: Tiredness, excitement or sadness, are well correlated to activity patterns of neurons releasing such neuromodulators. While specific behaviors have been linked to specific neuromodulators, and while activation of receptors and their downstream signaling pathways are known for these neuromodulators, our knowledge on how these neuromodulatory neurons themselves work, how they adapted and how their global projection achieve specificity is not known.

Keywords: neuromodulation – optogenetics – photoreceptors – noradrenaline – plasticity

Location: LIN

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