Our research is dedicated to understanding the complex mechanisms that underlie neuronal connectivity and plasticity. We’re particularly interested in how these processes can be affected by environmental and genetic factors, as well as how they’re impacted by various diseases and drug treatments. To explore these questions, we use a range of techniques including behavioral assays, physiological measurements, pharmacological manipulations, and genomic analyses.

1. Discovering fast-acting antidepressants. Depression is a common and varied mood disorder that affects around 16% of people worldwide. Despite the availability of antidepressant medications, there is still a pressing need for more effective treatments. Ketamine has shown promise as a rapid-acting antidepressant, with unique clinical benefits, but it also has some significant drawbacks as a long-term treatment, including the risk of inducing psychosis and the possibility of abuse. In order to develop a new generation of fast-acting antidepressants with minimal or no side effects, it is crucial that we continue to deepen our understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying ketamine’s antidepressant effects and identify new therapeutic targets.
2. Beneficial effects of exercise on mental health. It is well established that engaging in voluntary exercise can have a number of positive effects on the brain. These effects include the activation of neurogenesis, neuroadaptive processes, and neuroprotective mechanisms. These processes work together to produce a range of benefits for human health. On the other hand, a sedentary lifestyle characterized by insufficient physical activity has been linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases. Our ultimate goal is to better understand how exercise impacts the central nervous system and how we can use this knowledge to promote physical and mental well-being through regular exercise.
3. Gut microbiota in mood regulation. Recent research has revealed a complex, bidirectional communication system between the brain, the gut, and the microbiota that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract, known as the brain-gut-microbiota axis. Using advanced techniques such as shotgun sequencing and metagenomic analysis, we have been exploring the role of the gut microbiome in the regulation of mood and the stress response in individuals experiencing chronic stress or chronic pain. Our findings suggest that the gut microbiome may play a significant role in these processes and may offer potential targets for therapeutic intervention in conditions related to mood and stress regulation.