Department of Chemitry
The functional heterogeneity of mossy cells and its implication in PTSD
Mossy cells (MCs) are glutamatergic neurons in the dentate hilar region and are known to be vulnerable to neurotoxic insults such as ischemia, traumatic brain injury, and seizures. Loss or dysregulation of MCs results in abnormalities in dentate gyrus-mediated functions including spatial memory formation, pattern separation, and mood regulation. Here, I investigated the intrinsic heterogeneity within MCs that is attributable for functional differentiation along the longitudinal extent of the hippocampus. During this work, I have observed the MC subpopulations with a phenotype similar to post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Through follow-up research, I intend to investigate whether identified subpopulations contribute to critically develop PTSD, and further propose a molecular and neural circuit-based treatment that can overcome the cognitive impairment of PTSD.