Scientific topics
Keywords
ITMO
Maxime Cazorla PhD
Course and current status
Current position
Principal Investivator, Institut de Neurosciences de La Timone, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS UMR7289
Scientific Director, INT Neurotechnology Center, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS UMR7289
Previous positions
2014-2020 INSERM Research Scientist (CRCN), Grenoble Institute of Neuroscience, INSERM U1216, Grenoble, France
2012-2014 Postodc, Institut Curie, INSERM U1005, Orsay, France (Dr. F. Saudou)
2008-2012 Postdoc, Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry, New York, USA (Dr. C. Kellendonk)
2004-2008 PhD Student, University Paris VI, Center for Psychiatry and Neuroscience, INSERM U894, Paris, France (Drs P. Sokoloff and J. Premont)
2003-2004 Pregraduate Student, University Montpellier II, Institute of Human Genetics, CNRS UPR1142, Montpellier, France (Pr. S. Lehmann)
Education
2008 PhD in Neuroscience (University Paris VI)
2004 Master in Biochemistry and Neuroscience (University Montpellier II)
Scientific summary
Studying network plasticity in health and disease
Deciphering the complex architecture of neural circuits is a major challenge in Neuroscience. What defines an optimal circuit? Are neuronal networks stable or can they evolve with experience and learning?
These fundamental questions have spawned breakthrough initiatives, such as the Human Brain Project (EU) and the Brain Activity Map (USA), which seek to better understand how the brain generates and transmits information. This seminal work has recently experienced an even greater level of complexity : pre-wired axonal circuits are not rigid. Instead, macrocircuits can dynamically re-structure to define new architecture patterns as the brain learns and evolves. This pioneering work, which contrasts with the traditional microcircuit scale of synaptic plasticity, has led to the emergence of the brain rewiring concept.
In the lab, we strive to understand (i) how neuronal activity regulates brain rewiring, (ii) how circuit remodeling allows optimal learning, and (iii) how it can be targeted to develop novel therapeutic approaches to treat various brain disorders associated with defects in connectivity.
Beyond its implication in fundamental science, our project may provide important insights for the development of new therapeutic strategies in neurological and psychiatric disorders that affect the corticostriatal network, such as schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Huntington's disease.
Our methodology combines state of the art brain-on-a-chip platforms, high-resolution videomicroscopy, virus-mediated circuit tracing, electrophysiology, optogenetics, functional network imaging, and behavioral analyses.
