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Grant recipient

Anders Nykjær

Fading traces: Unravelling a Mechanism of Forgetting
Grant amount: 11.396.000 DKK
Forgetting is a dynamic and regulated process essential for cognitive flexibility and neural adaptation. It aids in refining memories by removing irrelevant or outdated information, thus enhancing decision-making and integration of new experiences. If forgetting is purturbed it has severe consequences on mental health. We will study how SORCS3, a risk gene of PTSD, controls forgetting. The project will use state-of-the-art methods, including optogenetics to engineer false memories and control their decay, advanced imaging techniques to visualize neuronal communication at scales ranging from individual synapses to larger networks, and spatial transcriptomics to analyse gene expression at single-cell resolution in the amygdala, a brain region crucial for the formation and forgetting of fear memories. The study will provide fundamental insight into mechanisms regulating forgetting and it may nominate SORCS3 as a target for therapeutic intervention in PTSD and other psychiatric disorders.
Anders Nykjær
Professor
Aarhus Universitet, Biomedicine