Laboratory of Emotions Neurobiology
Dr Ewelina Knapska has been leading an independent laboratory in the Nencki Institute since 2012. She is a neurobiologist with expertise in neuronal physiology, and behavioral neuroscience. In 2016 she received a European Research Council grant. Her group has provided an essential insights into the role of the central amygdala in appetitive learning, memory, and emotion transfer. The Host laboratory belongs to the BrainCity Center of Excellence.
Research activities in our laboratory are focused on the neurobiological basis of emotions. We are particularly interested in the mechanisms of socially transferred emotions (in rodent models of emotional contagion). Emotional contagion, i.e., the capacity to be affected by and/or share the emotional state of another individual, is considered to be the simplest form of empathy. In our laboratory we study neuronal circuits in the amygdala underlying social transfer of positive and negative emotions. In order to understand how the systems underlying social communication operate we employ rat and mouse models, as well as neuronal tracing and optogenetic techniques. The two main questions our research is focused on are: (1) Are the neural circuits underlying positive and negative social emotions distinct? (2) Does the social brain exist, i.e., are there neural circuits specialized in social emotions? We also investigate the brain circuits and cellular mechanisms underlying impaired social interactions and the possibilities of therapeutic intervention in mouse genetic and idiopathic models of autism spectrum disorder. Using state-of- the-art automatic systems for assessing social behavior and neurobiology tools we try to explain why some individuals suffer from autism. Thalamo-Cortical Processing Group focuses on the effect emotional and cognitive state of the brain has on information processing within first and higher order thalamo-cortical pathways as well as the salience and valence of sensory stimuli
The highly dynamic and technologically advanced environment of the laboratory of Dr Ewelina Knapska permits for implementation of interdisciplinary studies. The lab conducts research that integrates different disciplines of neuroscience in relation to educational access and equity. One of the group priorities is improving transparency and reproducibility of scientific research. The lab participate in the open science projects.
The laboratory offers instrumentation units for molecular biology, biochemistry, immunocytochemistry, electrophysiology, behavioral studies, surgery room. For the team disposal are epiflorescence and bright field microscopes, diverse behavioral hardware, fully equipped electrophysiology rigs for patch-clap techniques and extracellular recordings, as well as setups for stereotactic procedures including viral gene transfer. A strong commitment from the experienced scientists in the group provides necessary help with experimentation, and continuous improvement of protocols or development of new techniques. For data post processing the group currently offers licensed access to the mandatory software and programming environments. The laboratory is supported by the Nencki Institute services for animal housing, photonic imaging, as well as electron microscopy imaging.
The project leader
The project leader Dr Adam Gorlewicz has 15 years of experience in neuroscience and previous experience with effective grant management. He deploys research in different animal models of temporal lobe epilepsy. He was introduced into the advanced electrophysiology and optogenetics of synaptic transmission and neuronal network with particular relevance to the mossy fiber pathway and hippocampus. Moreover, he is familiar with spectrum of photonic and electron microscopy methods, viral gene transfer, and advanced signal and image analysis. The result of his recent research focus is discovery of effective method to suppress chronic seizure in mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy.
In case of any questions related to the Epilepsy and Cognition project or recruitment please do not hesitate to contact me.
