Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Art styles --- Conceptual --- LeWitt, Sol --- Snow, Michael --- Wilson, Martha --- Oppenheim, Dennis --- Bartlett, Jennifer --- Ono, Yoko --- Haacke, Hans --- Fiore, Robert --- Bourgeois, Louise --- Smithson, Robert --- Weiner, Lawrence --- Beuys, Joseph --- Kawara, On --- Serra, Richard --- Brouwn, Stanley --- Ruscha, Ed --- Acconci, Vito --- Ryman, Robert --- Graham, Dan --- Artschwager, Richard --- Gilbert and George --- Nauman, Bruce --- Aycock, Alice --- Baer, Josephine Gail --- Baldessari, John --- Barry, Robert --- Becher, Bernd und Hilla --- Brecht, George --- Darboven, Hanne --- Le Va, Barry --- Siegelaub, Seth --- Wegman, William --- Wilson, Ian --- Ader, Bas Jan --- Kaprow, Allan --- Kosuth, Joseph --- Art & Language --- Guerilla Art Action Group --- BMPT --- the Rosario Group --- anno 1900-1999

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Implantable silicon-based neural probes for high-density neural recordings are important tools for the investigation of neurophysiological systems. However, progress in the application of probes to chronic implants has been hampered by two important challenges: (1) the progressive degradation of the probe/tissue interaction, which results in decreasing recording quality over time, (2) an adequate assessment tools for studying chronic neuroinflammatory reaction and probe performance. To overcome these challenges, we need a method to visualize the structure and function of the tissue surrounding the probe while implanted in the living brain. Therefore, I will (1) develop and validate a rodent cellular imaging assay to study the foreign body response in chronic neural implants, and (2) 1.investigate the relation between glial scarring and quality of neural recordings from chronically implanted silicon probes. These results will provide the necessary information to direct the development of probes with improved long-term recording capabilities. The project will be performed in NERF (Bonin lab) with probe technology from imec (CTT team) and in collaboration with KULeuven (Bart Nuttin) and imec (Liesbet Lagae).

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

When we go running, or go to work, we navigate without using Google maps on our smartphones. The process that enables us to navigate relies on a cognitive map inside the brain, and is referred to as spatial navigation. This map represents the individual’s knowledge of the relationship of the environment to space. Several brain regions are known to be involved. The cognitive map of the environment requires constant updating with the incoming sensory information. However, the different brain regions involved in this process do not directly encode for sensory information. It is stated that the retrosplenial cortex (RSC), a subdivision of the cortex located caudally around the corpus callosum, could encoded for this information. Recently, more research has been devoted to the anatomical and functional characteristics of the RSC, in spatial navigation. Several researchers reported (reciprocal) connections between the RSC and other spatially involved brain regions, such as the hippocampal and parahippocampal formation, and the posterior parietal cortex. Connections between sensory areas and the RSC have also been described, and include the primary visual -, primary motor -, and primary somatosensory cortices. The RSC appears to play a role in spatial memory and learning, and in encoding and storing of spatial information. Furthermore, a recent finding at the Bonin’s lab supports a functional difference in the RSC along the rostro-caudal axis. More spatially selective cells are found in the anterior RSC, whereas more visually selective cells are found in the posterior RSC. We optimized a retrograde dual labeling approach to investigate if this functional difference is mediated by an anatomical difference between the long-range input pathways along the rostro-caudal axis. We injected Cholera toxin subunit B (CTB) tracers conjugated to Alexa Fluor (AF) fluorescent probes (CTB 488, CTB 555) into the RSC of mice, to label individual neurons in the areas that provide input. This individual retrogradely-labeled cells were quantified to map out all the brain regions that provide anterior and/or posterior input to the RSC. We hypothesized that the anterior RSC receives spatial inputs, while the posterior RSC receives visual inputs. However, our findings did not confirm this hypothesis. We found that the somatosensory and motor cortices provided most of the inputs to the anterior RSC, while the spatial areas provided mainly spatial inputs to the posterior RSC. Nevertheless, projections from spatial areas to the anterior RSC were also observed, but to a lesser extent. Visual areas also provided some projections to the posterior RSC, which is consistent with our hypothesis. However, only one mouse was used to obtain these results, which means that only preliminary conclusions can be drawn so far. More data, along with further optimization of the protocol, would result in more reliable results that would fit the hypothesis.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

In daily life, our brains are exposed to constant information flow from our senses. However, processing all this information costs a lot of energy. Therefore, it is critical to prioritize relevant information and filter out distractions. This process is called “sensory selection” and involves the interplay between different brain areas such as the cortex and thalamus. In this study, we focused on a specific region of the thalamus called the lateral posterior nucleus (LP) and its role in visual information processing. We used a method called optogenetics which is based on the use of light to inhibit the activity of LP in mice. By suppressing the activity of LP, we could observe how this suppression influences the neuronal dynamics in the visual cortex. Our results showed that when LP activity is suppressed, the neuronal dynamics in the visual cortex significantly changed. These changes were specific to certain visual stimuli with different properties. However, the results showed variations among the subjects. Therefore, experiments with more animals are required to understand the relationship between LP and the visual cortex better. In summary, this study contributes to the understanding of how the brain prioritizes one sensory information over the other and how different parts of the brain communicate with each other. Understanding these processes can improve our knowledge of certain neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) which are known to involve deficits in sensory processing.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)