Research
Research in the Canetta Laboratory focuses on understanding the development and function of circuits underlying cognitive and affective behaviors in mice. Please see below for a snapshot of several ongoing projects
Prefrontal Cortical Development
Activity plays a key role in refining sensory circuits during sensitive periods in development to be most adapted to the local environment. How this principle applies to associative cortical regions like the prefrontal cortex is just beginning to be explored. We identified a developmental window in which activity in prefrontal PV-expressing interneurons is required for their normal integration in prefrontal circuitry, with consequences for adult prefrontal network function and cognitive flexibility (Canetta et al, eLife, 2023). Ongoing interests include:
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1) What intrinsic and extrinsic signals influence developmental PV activity?
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2) What about activity in other interneuron populations?
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3) What determines the timing of these sensitive periods?
Gamma Oscillations & Cognitive Flexibility
We are interested in how the prefrontal cortex supports complex functions such as cognitive flexibility. We observed that before an animal makes a correct, but not an incorrect, choice in a set shifting task that measures cognitive flexibility, prefrontal oscillations in the gamma frequency increase relative to baseline. Ongoing interests include:
1) How does this oscillation support prefrontal computations underlying set shifting?
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2) What prefrontal cell types are responsible?
Serotonin & Reward Seeking
Anhedonia, or alterations in reward seeking, are a core feature of multiple psychiatric disorders including depression. We are interested in understanding:
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1) How do alterations in serotonin signaling during development influence the development of circuits and behaviors related to reward seeking?
2) What antidepressant medications may be most effective for treating deficits in reward processing and what is their mechanism of action?
