Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Jack and Linda Gill Chair, Gill Institute for Neuroscience
Neuroscience
Our goal is to understand the wiring and operating principles of cortical microcircuits that control higher-order cognitive processes in a coordinated manner. To achieve this aim, we combine state-of-the-art methods, including viral techniques, high-resolution light microscopy, brain slice electrophysiology, recordings of neural activities in awake animals, opto- and chemogenetics. We are particularly interested in the function of the prefrontal cortex and amygdala at the cellular and circuit levels. In addition to focusing on local neural circuits within these two brain structures, we aim to reveal the circuit mechanisms underlying the communication between the prefrontal cortex and amygdala under normal and pathological conditions. The results of our studies intend to uncover some of the key network parameters involved in abnormal operation causing e.g. the autistic phenotype.
Hájos N. (2021) Interneuron Types and Their Circuits in the Basolateral Amygdala. Front Neural Circuits. 15:687257. doi: 10.3389/fncir.2021.687257.
Vereczki VK, Müller K, Krizsán É, Máté Z, Fekete Z, Rovira-Esteban L, Veres JM, Erdélyi F, Hájos N. (2021) Total Number and Ratio of GABAergic Neuron Types in the Mouse Lateral and Basal Amygdala. J Neurosci. 41:4575-4595. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2700-20.2021.
Rovira-Esteban L, Gunduz-Cinar O, Bukalo O, Limoges A, Brockway E, Müller K, Fenno L, Kim YS, Ramakrishnan C, Andrási T, Deisseroth K, Holmes A, Hájos N. (2019) Excitation of Diverse Classes of Cholecystokinin Interneurons in the Basal Amygdala Facilitates Fear Extinction. eNeuro. 6:ENEURO.0220-19.2019. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0220-19.2019.
Rhomberg T, Rovira-Esteban L, Vikór A, Paradiso E, Kremser C, Nagy-Pál P, Papp OI, Tasan R, Erdélyi F, Szabó G, Ferraguti F, Hájos N. (2018) VIP-immunoreactive interneurons within circuits of the mouse basolateral amygdala. J Neurosci 38:6983-7003. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2063-17.2018
Andrási T, Veres J, Rovira-Esteban L, Kozma R, Vikór A, Gregori E, Hájos N. (2017) Differential Excitatory Control of Two Parallel Basket Cell Networks in Amygdala Microcircuits. PLOS Biology e2001421. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2001421.
Veres JM, Nagy GA, Hájos N. (2017) Perisomatic GABAergic synapses of basket cells effectively control principal neuron activity in amygdala networks. eLife. 6. pii: e20721. doi: 10.7554/eLife.20721.
Hájos N, Karlócai MR, Németh B, Ulbert I, Monyer H, Szabó G, Erdélyi F, Freund TF and Gulyás AI. (2013) Input-output features of anatomically identified CA3 neurons during hippocampal sharp wave/ripple oscillation in vitro. J Neurosci. 33:11677-91. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5729-12.2013
Gulyás AI, Szabó GG, Ulbert I, Holderith N, Monyer H, Erdélyi F, Szabó G, Freund TF, Hájos N. (2010) Parvalbumin-containing fast-spiking basket cells generate the field potential oscillations induced by cholinergic receptor activation in the hippocampus. J Neurosci. 30:15134-45. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4104-10.2010.
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