Neurobiology of emotional olfactory memory in rats
Odors are particularly meaningful stimuli for rats and the olfactory pathways in both humans and rodents, establish direct connexions with brain structures involved in memory and emotion: the hippocampus and the amygdala. Since several years, we have been studying the neural network involved in odor fear conditioning. My research work includes the following projects.
1- Respective role of the amygdala and the olfactory cortex in odor fear conditioning.
To address this question, we are using different technical approaches: electrophysiological populational recordings, intracerebral microdialysis (NeuroDialytics Platform, Sandrine Parrot, CRNL) and pharmacology in awake behaving rats.
2- Long-term effects of neonatal olfactory experiences on odor fear conditioning at adulthood.
We showed that an odor learned in infancy is able to alter the behavioral performances during adult learning, as well as the activity of the neural structures normally involved in this learning.
This work is done in collaboration with Regina Sullivan, New-York, USA. (https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/regina-m-sullivan).
3- Representation and memory of time in odor fear conditioning.
Interval timing refers to the ability to time intervals ranging from seconds to minutes and guides fundamental animal behaviors. In this project, we investigated the neural network dynamics occurring during the odor-shock interval in odor fear conditioning in rats. To do so, we used an experimental setup developed in the lab, allowing fine-grain analysis of the animal's behavior thanks to the simultaneous recording of respiration, ultrasonic vocalizations and freezing behavior, in parallel to oscillatory activities multisite wireless recordings.
This research work is carried out in collaboration with Valérie Doyère, Orsay, France. (https://neuropsi.cnrs.fr/en/cnn-home/valerie-doyere/#research).
4- Ultrasonic vocalizations emission across development in rats: Coordination with respiration and impact on brain neural dynamics.
A transverse project of my research is devoted to the characterization of the relationships between respiration and ultrasonic vocalizations in both young animals and adults, and to investigate the impact of USV emission on brain oscillatory activities. A better knowledge of the impact of social vocalizations on brain neural dynamics is particularly relevant for rodent models of human neuropsychiatric disorders, for which socio-affective communication is severely impaired.
