Lab website:
Our lab studies the function of the hippocampal circuit, a brain area that is vital for memory formation and is linked to many neuropsychiatric disorders, such as PTSD, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease. We use a variety of in vitro and in vivo techniques – including electrophysiology, neuronal tracing, optogenetics and chemogenetics, immunohistochemistry, and mouse behavior – to address the cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying hippocampal information processing and its relevance to behaviors.
Teaching Information
Office Hours
Research Information
Research Interests
The long term goal of our lab is to help understand the function of the hippocampal circuit, a brain area that is essential for encoding, storage and retrieval of memory and is strongly linked to many neuropsychiatric disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's disease.
Current research of our lab is focused on area CA3 in the hippocampus. CA3 is a major component that constitutes the classic trisynaptic circuit in the hippocampus (entorhinal cortex → dentate gyrus → CA3 → CA1), and is crucial for memory storage and pattern completion (a process by which an entire memory is retrieved from degraded or partial cues). Compared to the neighboring CA1 and dentate gyrus, CA3 remains relatively understudied. Our current research aims to address the cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying hippocampal information processing through CA3 circuit. We are also interested in understanding the role of CA3 impairments in neuropsychiatric disorders. Our research contributes to a better understanding of hippocampal circuit function and helps identify novel strategy to relieve or repair behavioral deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders that involve the hippocampus.
Publications
View All Publications
Selected Publications
Sun Q#, Jiang YQ, Lu MC. (2020) . J Neurophysiol. 124(4):1270-1284. #corresponding author.
Sun Q#, Buss EW, Jiang YQ, Santoro B, Brann DH, Nicholson DA, Siegelbaum SA#. (2021) . J Neurosci. 41(39):8103-8110. #co-corresponding author.
Teixeira CM*, Rosen ZB*, Suri P, Sun Q, Hersh M, Sargin D, Dincheva I, Morgan AA, Spivack S, Krok AC, Hirschfeld-Stoler T, Lambe EK, Siegelbaum SA, Ansorge MS. (2018) . Neuron. 98 (5): 992-1004. *contributed equally.
Sun Q#, Sotayo A, Cazzulino AS, Snyder AM, Denny CA, Siegelbaum SA#. (2017) . Neuron. 95 (3):656-672. #co-corresponding author.
Srinivas KV, Buss EW, Sun Q, Santoro B, Takahashi H, Nicholson DA, Siegelbaum SA. (2017) . J Neurosci. 37 (12) 3276-3293.
Sun Q#, Srinivas KV, Sotayo A, Siegelbaum SA#. (2014) . eLife. 3: doi:10.7554/eLife.04551. #co-corresponding author.
Tatavarty V*, Sun Q*, Turrigiano GG. (2013) . J Neurosci. 33 (32):13179-13189. *contributed equally.
Sun Q, Turrigiano GG. (2011) . J Neurosci. 31 (18):6800-8.
Ibata K*, Sun Q*, Turrigiano GG. (2008) . Neuron. 57 (6):819-26. *contributed equally.
Sun Q*, Xing GG*, Tu HY, Han JS, Wan Y. (2005) . Brain Res. 1032(1-2):63-69. *contributed equally.
Sun Q*, Tu HY*, Xing GG, Han JS, Wan Y. (2005) . Exp Neurol. 191(1):128-136. *contributed equally.