QUINN PAULI
MY RESEARCH
how memories are shaped over time
My PhD project is focused on understanding the machinery in the brain that either enables or prevents memories from being modified or forgotten. Strong memories, for example, can be resistant to natural forgetting mechanisms, and can lead to disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUDs). I am specifically interested in understanding why some memories are so difficult to forget, and whether the underlying mechanisms in the brain can be targeted with drugs to restore memory flexibility. To do this, I am using a variety of techniques to measure how neuronal networks involved in learning and memory change with activity and time. Better understanding how strong and weak memories form and persist in the brain under certain conditions can ultimately lead to new treatment options for those who suffer from memory-related disorders.
ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY
Electrophysiology is a biophysical technique that can be used to measure electrical signals in brain slices that are kept "alive" in solution. Using this technique, I can record electrical impulses that arise from neurons communicating with each other. I use this method to measure how neuronal networks are altered following electrical patterns that are similar to those that naturally occur during memory processes in the brain (synaptic plasticity).
BEHAVIOUR
IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE
Memory updating can also be studied in behaving animals. When rodents are exposed to a new environment and simultaneously receive either a pleasant or unpleasant stimulus, they begin to associate the environment with the experience. This type of associative learning results in stereotyped behaviours that can be measured when the rodent is placed back into the environment, to measure how the memory changes over time. I use this technique to assess how emotional memories can be updated or forgotten, and what mechanisms in the brain are involved.
Immunofluorescence uses fluorescent dyes that tag specific proteins in brain slices. Using this technique, I can see how synaptic plasticity, or even different behavioural tasks, can cause rearrangement of proteins within the brain. This can help us identify key signaling molecules in certain memory processes, and potentially lead to therapeutic strategies to target them.