Research
We investigate molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie plasticity of synapses and neuronal circuitry in animal models, as well as the human brain.
Projects and Networks
MCN teams contribute to national and international research projects and consortiums
About us
The MCN department was initiated in 2003 and in its current form has ~40 lab members. MCN participates in Amsterdam Neuroscience. Photo: lab outing to France 2023
Our latest activities
Michel van den Oever receives NWO Open Competition M2 grant
The M2 project is a collaboration with the lab of Dr. Krugers at the UvA. Together, they will investigate how stress hormone levels affect the synaptic and molecular properties of engram neurons, and thereby the specificity of a memory.
Peptidergic control of the brain’s stress system modulates anxiety
In a new study published in Science Advances, Dr. Danai Riga and colleagues explored how the brain’s built-in peptidergic systems help regulate its response to stress
Altered spines on memory-encoding neurons in the hippocampus
A study performed by PhD student Panthea Nemat of the Molecular Engrams team led by Dr. Priyanka Rao-Ruiz was recently published in a special issue on “Deciphering the memory engram” in Neurobiology of Learning and Memory in which they describe “Structural synaptic signatures of contextual memory retrieval-reactivated hippocampal engram cells”.
