This project focuses on the interactions between experience and adult neurogenesis in the hippocampal region of the brain. We are interested in understanding how experiences, including learning and stressful experiences, regulate adult neurogenesis and how the new neurons alter responses in these situations. We study the regulation and function of adult neurogenesis in rats and mice, which show continued production of new neurons throughout adulthood similar to that in primates, including humans. We have previously found that specifically inhibiting adult neurogenesis in mice increases their hormonal and behavioral responses to stress, increasing depressive-like behavior. During the past year, we have focused on identifying structural and behavioral changes that occur when adult neurogenesis in inhibited using pharmacogenetic manipulations in mice or rats. We continue to investigate the relationship between inhibition of adult neurogenesis and anxiety/depressive-like changes in behavior.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter