Stijn Cassenaer

Systems neuroscience addresses brain function at the level of neural circuits, and studies how the activity of networks of neurons gives rise to perception and behavior. The complex interactions of its constituent parts are what endow the brain with its extraordinary ability. To facilitate understanding, it is valuable to match the complexity of the nervous system of choice to the question of interest. Ideally, one is able to address the question in the context of a robust, ethologically relevant behavior, and to perturb and observe the system, with as much specificity as current technology affords.

Most model organisms used in neuroscience were initially selected on genetic, ethological, or physiological grounds. Many questions posed by systems neuroscience, however, are addressed most powerfully if the benefits and tools of these fields can be combined in the same experiment. The approach most commonly taken to achieve this, often with considerable success, is to choose a genetic model organism and bring to bear behavioral and physiological methods typically developed for other systems. Ours is a complementary approach, to augment the genetic tools available for preparations selected on the strength of their ethological and/or physiological suitability. Naturally, the vectors we develop can also be used to enhance target specificity in genetic model organisms.

We use these tools to investigate issues related to neural information processing, learning and memory. Broadly, they are questions such as: how are features of the outside world represented in the brain; how are representations transformed; what algorithms are implemented, and how are the underlying computations carried out by neural circuits? How is information necessary for a particular behavior stored; how is it read out at a later time and integrated with new information?

Selected Publications

Cassenaer S and Laurent G. Conditional modulation of spike-timing-dependent plasticity for olfactory learning. Nature 482(7383), 47-52 (2012).

Papadopoulou M, Cassenaer S, Nowotny T and Laurent G. Normalization for sparse encoding of odors by a wide-field interneuron. Science 332(6030), 721-5 (2011).

Cassenaer S and Laurent G. Hebbian STDP in mushroom bodies facilitates the synchronous flow of olfactory information in locusts. Nature 448(5154), 709-13 (2007).

Chen Y, Zhuang S, Cassenaer S, Casteel DE, Gudi T, Boss GR, Pilz RB. Synergism between calcium and cyclic GMP in cyclic AMP response element-dependent transcriptional regulation requires cooperation between CREB and C/EBP-beta. Mol Cell Biol 23(12), 4066-82 (2003).

Perez-Orive J, Mazor O, Turner GC, Cassenaer S, Wilson RI, Laurent G. Oscillations and sparsening of odor representations in the mushroom body. Science 297(5580), 359-65 (2002).

Liu ML, Shibata MA, Von Lintig FC, Wang W, Cassenaer S, Boss GR, Green JE. Haploid loss of Ki-ras delays mammary tumor progression in C3 (1)/SV40 Tag transgenic mice. Oncogene 20(16), 2044-9 (2001).