Sandi Lab – Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics

We investigate the impact and mechanisms whereby stress and personality affect brain function and behavior, with a focus on motivation and the social domain.

Research

Specifically, we investigate:

i) The neurobiological mechanisms involved in motivated behavior, and their modulation by stress and anxiety. We focus on the mesolimbic system and the role of mitochondrial function in effort-based motivated behavior and social hierarchy formation and maintenance.

ii) The mechanisms whereby early life stress enhances risk to develop psychopathologies, with a main focus on the emergence of sociability deficits and pathological aggression. We investigate the role of glucocorticoids in determining different neurodevelopmental trajectories following exposure to early life adversity. We also ascertaining the fat-to-brain pathways in the mediation of behavioral programming by early life stress.

Experimental approaches in the lab include a combination of behavioral, neuroimaging, electrophysiological, neurochemical, pharmacological, metabolic, genetic and optogenetic methods. We perform studies in rodents and translational work in humans using virtual reality, behavioral economics, experimental psychology (eye-tracking, computer-based tests) and neuroimaging (EEG, fMRI, MRI, 1H-MRS) approaches.

Representative recent publications

Monari S et al., 2023

Blunted Glucocorticoid responsiveness to stress causes behavioral and biological alterations That lead to posttraumatic stress disorder vulnerability. Monari S, Guillot de Suduiraut I, Grosse J, Zanoletti O, Walker S, Mesquita M, Wood T, Cash D, Astori S, Sandi C (2023)

Ghosal S et al., 2023

Mitofusin-2 in nucleus accumbens D2-MSNs regulates social dominance and neuronal function. Ghosal S, Gebara E, Ramos Fernandez E, Chioino A, Grosse J, Guillot de Suduiraut I, Zanoletti O, Schneider B, Zorzano A, Astori S, Sandi C (2023)

Morató L et al., 2022

eNAMPT actions through nucleus accumbens NAD+/SIRT1 link increased adiposity with sociability deficits programmed by peripuberty stress. Morató L, Astori S, Zalachoras I, Rodrigues J, Ghosal S, Huang W, Guillot de Suduiraut I, Grosse J, Zanoletti O, Cao L, Auwerx J, Sandi C (2022)

Contact

Head of Laboratory: Prof. Carmen Sandi
Office : SV 2810
Phone : +41 21 693 9534


Administration: Barbara Goumaz
Office: SV 2805
Phone: + 41 21 693 17 62


Mailing Address

EPFL
SV BMI LGC
SV 2805 (Bâtiment SV)
Station 19
CH-1015 Lausanne

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