Beenhakker Lab
Principal Investigator: Mark Beenhakker
Institution: University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The central tenet of connectomics is to reconstruct enough neuronal constituents with their synaptic connections that encompass a neural circuit to reveal its architectural organization. Yet, despite the rapid technical progress, it remains a prohibitively challenging task to elucidate complex cortical neuronal circuit architectures, which dictate principles of cortical operation essential for delineating cortical physiology and pathology. Recently, we developed a prototype of simultaneous and sequential octuple-sexdecuple (8−16) whole-cell patch-clamp recording system that enabled reconstruction of complex cortical circuits consisting of ≥10 types of identified neurons. Our preliminary study showed that 8−16 patch-clamp recordings could reconstruct sufficient components of layer 1 (L1) single bouquet cell (SBC)-led disinhibitory circuit in the mouse somatosensory cortex, and the preliminary data began to reveal its overall architectural design. Therefore, we hypothesize that 8−16 patch-clamp recordings enable architectonic analysis of complex cortical L1 SBC-led disinhibitory circuits in healthy and diseased brains. In this project, we will test whether 8−…
Active NIH Awards
- 4R01NS131762-02: Architectonic analysis of complex cortical circuits in healthy and diseased brain (2026)
- 5R01NS126594-05: Respiration and Generalized Epilepsies (2026)
- 5R01NS131670-04: Adrenergic transmission properties and implication (2026)
- 5R01NS126594-04: Respiration and Generalized Epilepsies (2025)
- 5R01NS131670-03: Adrenergic transmission properties and implication (2025)
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