Aim of the research projects of the Behavioral Neuroscience group is to contribute to an improved understanding of the role of molecular signals in specific brain areas in learned and innate fear responses and its dysregulation. Dysregulation of fear circuits is assumed to underlie the etiology of affective disorders. This also concerns the brain-heart interaction as shown by the comorbidity of cardiac risk with affective disorders and a prominent role of aversive emotional challenges as acute trigger of adverse outcomes including cardiac death in epidemiological studies in humans.

Our studies use a spectrum of behavior assays from anxiety tests to emotional learning tasks such as fear conditioning and passive avoidance learning. Behavioral monitoring is combined with autonomic (heart rate) and neural (in vivo electrophysiology) measurements using radio-telemetry approaches in freely moving mice. The analysis of heart rate dynamics in freely moving mice is used for an improved understanding of the brain-heart interaction. The dynamical state of heart rate is determined by brain function. Nonlinear measures of heart rate dynamics provide for a translation of results from mouse to man with high sensitivity and qualitative functional assessment of physiological versus pathological changes.  Experiments are combined with both pharmacological as well as genetic are used for local interventions in defined brain areas. Current pharmacological studies address the role of the serotonergic system. Genetic interventions target genes that are involved in neurotransmitter release mechanisms. New experimental approaches are now developed for a combined behavioral and physiological monitoring of behavior over extended time periods with minimal human interference. This is achieved in automated behavior systems and allows investigating the dynamics of fear responses from learning to extinction and its concomitant physiological responses.

Research projects are performed within the CNCR in a collaborative manner with Sander Groffen, Guus Smit, Sabine Spijker, Joost Verhaagen and Matthijs Verhage.

External collaborations exist with Christian Gutzen (Biobserve, Bonn, DE), Kartien Kas (RMI, University Utrecht, NL), Sven Ove Ögren and Per Svenningsson (Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SE), Ilan Golani (Tel Aviv University, IL) and Manfred Gahr (MPI Ornithology, Seewiesen, DE).