Translational Neuroscience

The research mission of the Department of Translational Neuroscience is to discover and delineate mechanisms and processes which are fundamental to the development of neural systems and to the control of behavior as well as to translate these to pathogenesis and disease models. We use cutting edge technology, disease models as well as computational tools to achieve these goals.

Our teaching mission is to raise the next generation scientists and clinicians with state-of-the-art knowledge, technical expertise and vision in the field of neuroscience. As a part of this effort, we teach in several Bachelor courses, coordinate the Neuroscience and Cognition master program of the Utrecht University and offer doctoral and postdoctoral training.

News

December 2, 2022 / News, Research paper

Stress eating: hypothalamic control over dopamine system drives bingeing

Studying how stress changes synaptic function to causally contribute to stress eating

Does stress eating sound familiar? Stress can increase the intake of high caloric food, which can contribute to obesity and eating disorders, but the neurobiology underlying this process is not clear. In a new paper out in Nature Communications the lab of Frank Meye describes how stress changes synaptic strength from the Lateral Hypothalamus (LHA) to the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) midbrain dopamine system to drive binge eating behavior.

First author Louisa Linders observed in mice that social stress resulted in binge-like intake of high caloric fat. Calcium recordings done by Lefkothea Patrikiou and Evelien Schut showed that LHA glutamatergic neurons controlling the VTA were responsive to such social stress, as well as to fat intake. Using patch-clamp electrophysiological approaches, Louisa went on to show that social stress strengthened the glutamatergic synaptic connection from the LHA to the VTA. Optogenetic tweaking of the strength of these LHA-VTA synapses proved critical in regulating whether stress eating took place. Overall, this paper highlights an important causal role of stress-induced plasticity in the synaptic connection from the lateral hypothalamus to the midbrain dopamine reward system for stress-driven food intake.

“I’m excited that we can share our findings on how stress changes synaptic function to causally contribute to stress eating.” Louisa Linders

The work was performed in the Translational Neuroscience Dept of the UMC Utrecht Brain Center. Check out the tweet by Frank Meye as well.

We look forward to seeing the upcoming work from the Meye group!

December 2, 2022 / News, Research paper

Studying synapses in specific neural circuits

new review on the use of electrophysiology and optogenetics for the study of synaptic connectivity and strength

In recent years the combination of brain slice electrophysiological recordings of neurons in response to optogenetic stimulation of their input, has become an indispensable staple to probe the function of neural circuits. The large amounts of distinct metrics that one can obtain this way are both informative but also daunting to the newcomer. In a recent review paper, Frank Meye’s team summarized the methodological state-of-the-art for this approach. The paper featured several team members including co-first authors Laura Supiot and Louisa Linders. In particular, the authors reviewed the rationale behind the different metrics used to study synaptic connectivity and changes in synaptic strength. They compiled a guide for the implementation of these methodologies in practice and discussed future directions to decipher neural circuits.

“We aimed to provide the rationale for distinct electrophysiological synaptic metrics, as well as practically explain how to obtain them.” Laura Supiot

Also see the tweet by Frank Meye. Congratulations to the whole team! 🎉

October 28, 2022 / Graduation, News

Renata Vieira de Sá finalises her PhD on ALS

Renata Vieira de Sá and her committee — Dr. Renata Vieira de Sá with her family and the PhD committee

Renata Vieira de Sá receives her PhD degree

Another successful PhD on ALS! On Thursday 20^th of October Renata Vieira de Sa defended her PhD thesis “Repeat expansions in Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Lessons from patient-derived models” at the Academiegebouw of Utrecht University. In her PhD thesis, Renata studied the contribution of C9orf72 and Ataxin2 repeat expansion to ALS using different patient-derived models including brain organoids and 2D motor neurons. She was supervised by promotors Jeroen Pasterkamp and Leonard van den Berg. This PhD on ALS further solidifies UMC Utrecht Brain Center as a leader in the field. Her work on human organoid models was instrumental in developing the cellular diversity. Renata continues her career as a post doctoral researcher at uniQure B.V. and the OrganoVIR labs in the AMC where she will continue developing advanced human models.

“It was a pleasure to defend my thesis after working on this topic for so long! It was a great way to conclude my time at the brain Center ” Renata

Once again, congratulations!

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Vacancies

We welcome open applications from PhD candidates and postdocs.