Department Neuroscience
Principal investigator Aleksandra Badura
E-mail address a.badura@erasmusmc.nl
Website www.neuro.nl/research/badura
Encoding of Sensorimotor deficits in Shank2 mouse model of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Suitable as a BEP? No
Suitable as a MEP? Yes
Suitable as an Academic Research Project? No
Techniques:
- Shank2 mouse model
- Intracranial surgery
- Viral injections
- In vivo awake calcium imaging
- VR behaviour
- Prediction models
Heterozygous loss-of-function SHANK2 mutations, present in ~0.15–0.3% of autistic individuals, are associated with intellectual and developmental disability, motor and language deficits, and ADHD. Human neurons with SHANK2 mutations form excess excitatory connections, and Shank2-deficient mice show behavioral deficits in eyeblink conditioning and reversal learning. Our preliminary data reveal altered c-Fos expression after reversal learning, but the in vivo neural basis remains unclear. To investigate the brain activity in the Shank2-deficient mice, we will record neuronal activity in awake, behaving mice using 1-photon calcium imaging. Mice will perform a reversal learning task in virtual reality. We will then apply GLM analysis to link behavioral performance to brain function. This will identify brain-wide activity changes predicting autism-like phenotypes.
Further reading (click to link to article)
https://elifesciences.org/articles/76051#s2
(Example) projects submitted by lab in past years
(2024-2025) Variability of neuronal activity and morphology in mouse model of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Supervisor: Ines Serra, i.dasilvaserra@erasmusmc.nl
We put a hand in, and nine out of ten times we locate what we were looking for. But sometimes we do not — that is when we take advantage of behavioral flexibility, an ability to adapt strategies to face new and unexpected conditions. However, in some disorders this adaptation does not occur or is impaired. But how is this richness of flexible behavior or the lack thereof determined by the brain?
Our group aims to understand how cerebello-cortical brain activity translates into behaviors that adapt to ever-changing environments. We are particularly interested in uncovering the mechanisms of maladaptive perseverative behaviors characteristic of autism spectrum disorder.
Techniques
- Electrophysiology
- Animal pose tracking estimation
- GLM
- Dimensionality reduction computational methods
- Immunocytochemistry
- Confocal microscopy