Abstract:
Neuronal properties must allow for complex computation, but energy availability is limited. How does the brain balance these competing constraints, and could sleep play a role in managing the energy efficiency of neuronal signalling on a daily basis? The work in my lab will look at how sleep activity patterns affect neuronal circuitry, with a joint focus on computational and energetic consequences.
Biography
I studied Physiology and Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford. I then joined UCL’s 4 Year Wellcome PhD in Neuroscience, and completed my PhD on brain energetics in David Attwell’s lab. After my PhD, I was awarded an Imperial Junior Research Fellowship to work between the labs of Denis Burdakov (Crick) and Bill Wisden (Imperial), during which time I learned the skills required to study sleep in vivo (using EEG , fiber photometry and optogenetics to investigate how sleep activity in the VTA influences future behaviour). I am currently in Andreas Schaefer’s lab at the Crick, where I am continuing to work on sleep, now in conjunction with single unit recordings. I have also been working with the lab’s automated behaviour system (Autonomouse) and olfactory tasks.
This will be a hybrid event.