Repairing local circuits and global networks.
Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability in the United States. Recovery is highly variable, occurs over weeks to months, and is associated with remapping of cortical function from the infarcted region to nearby cortex. Additionally, whole brain functional connectivity, which is acutely disrupted following stroke, normalizes in patients who recover. The neuronal causes of post-stroke cortical remapping and reintegration into functional networks are poorly understood. I am particularly interested in elucidating the molecular mechanisms and synaptic correlates of post-stroke cortical remapping and restoration of whole brain functional connectivity. I am using a variety of techniques including models of ischemic stroke, behavioral assays, inducible gene knockdown, stereotactic viral transduction, broadfield calcium imaging, confocal microscopy, immunohistochemistry, axon tracing, and spine analysis to study this topic.