Sandi Lab – Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics

Research

Specifically, we investigate: The neurobiological mechanisms involved in the formation of social hierarchies, and their modulation by stress and anxiety. Our current work focuses in the mesolimbic system and the role of mitochondrial function in motivation and social competition. The mechanisms whereby early life stress enhances risk to develop psychopathology, with a main focus on the emergence of pathological aggression. We investigate the role of glucocorticoids in determining different neurodevelopmental trajectories following exposure to early life adversity. The mechanisms linking altered neuroplasticity during development and pathological aggression. We focus on genes involved in the polysialylation of the neural cell adhesion molecule NCAM and investigate alterations in gene expression and brain connectivity linked to dysfunctional behaviors. Experimental approaches in the lab include a combination of behavioral, neurobiological, neuroimaging, neurochemical, pharmacological, metabolic, genetic and optogenetic methods. We are as well performing translational studies in humans using virtual reality, behavioral economics, experimental psychology (eye-tracking, computer-based tests) and neuroimaging (EEG, fMRI, MRI, 1H-MRS) approaches.