Pouchelon Lab
Principal Investigator: Gabrielle Pouchelon
Institution: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (Cold Spring Harbor, NY)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: ✅ Hiring Postdocs
Research Focus
ABSTRACT Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common genetic cause of autism spectrum disorders. Autism symptoms in FXS patients typically manifest during early infancy when children actively interact with their environment and form sensory-cognitive associations. During this stage, the neocortex undergoes extensive experience-dependent synaptogenesis and synaptic pruning to either maintain or eliminate, so-called transient, neuronal circuits. Several studies suggest that both sensory and neuromodulatory inputs to the cortex can establish transient connections with specific cell-types, and subsequently contribute to the maturation of proper adult cortical circuits. Given that early behavioral therapy is widely considered to be the most effective treatment for children with autism, pharmacological manipulations of sensory and neuromodulatory transient connectivity at the early onset of the disorders could potentially mimic or synergize with the effects of such beneficial behavioral therapies. However, to date, the role and mechanisms of transient connectivity in normal and FXS- associated cortical maturation remain largely unknown. To address this knowledge gap, we propose to invest…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01MH136990-03: Postnatal transient connectivity in brain development and implications in fragile x syndrome (2026)
- 5R01MH136990-02: Postnatal transient connectivity in brain development and implications in fragile x syndrome (2025)
- 1R01MH136990-01: Postnatal transient connectivity in brain development and implications in fragile x syndrome (2024)
Explore 700+ US Biology Labs on FindBioLabs.com