Laboratory of Neurobiology of Development and Evolution
Head: Krzysztof TURLEJSKI
Staff: Agata Aniszewska (PhD student), Katarzyna Bartkowska, Natalia Chłodzińska (PhD student), Ruzanna Djavadian, Monika Gajerska-Dzieciątkowska(PhD student)
Research profile:
In our research we correlate information about develop- ment and evolution of the mammalian brain. Several lines of research are presently followed in our laboratory. First, we investigate the connections of cortical fields and thalamic nuclei in various mammalian species. Next, we investigate the rate of brain cell generation and death in various orders of mammals. This information is correlated with behavioral tests, known ecological specialization and lineage history of these species. In another line of research we investigate mechanisms of seasonal oscillations of the brain volume in Sorex shrews (the Dehnel’s effect). Another area of our research concerns the role of neurotrophins in early development of the central nervous system of the laboratory opossum Monodelphis domestica. Finally, we investigate the influence of prenatal and neonatal stress in mice on brain development as well as emotional phenotype and learning abilities in adult animals
Methods:
• histology
• immunohistology
• Western blot
• tissue culture
• electroporation
• stereometry
• behavioral tests
Current research activities:
• the role neurotrophins and their receptors in early brain development in the opossum Monodelphis domestica
• influence of prenatal and neonatal stress on brain development in mice and related behavioral changes in adult animals
• mechanisms of spatial memory, fear and exploration in opossums, shrews and rodents
• adult neurogenesis in various species of mammals and its correlation with their ecology
• mechanisms and consequences of the evolutionary reduction of the size of body and brain
Selected publications:
Grabiec M., Turlejski K., Djavadian R.L. (2009) The partial 5-HT1A receptor agonist buspirone enhances neurogenesis in the opossum (Monodelphis domestica). European Neuropsychopharmacology, 19: 431-439.
Bartkowska K., Djavadian R. L., Taylor J.R.E., Turlejski K. (2008) Generation, recruitment and death of brain cells throughout the life cycle of Sorex shrews (Lipotyphla). European Journal of Neuroscience, 27: 1710–1721.
Bartkowska K., Paquin. A., Gauthier A.S., Kaplan D. R., Miller F.D. (2007) Trk signaling regulates neural precursor cell proliferation and differentiation during cortical development. Development, 134: 4369-4380.
Churchfield S., Rychlik L., Yavrouyan E., Turlejski K. (2006) First results on the feeding ecology of the Transcaucasian water shrew Neomys teres (Soricomorpha: Soricidae) from Armenia. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 84: 1853-1858.
Djavadian R., Bisti S., Maccarone R., Bartkowska K., Turlejski K. (2006) Development and plasticity of the retina in opossum Monodelphis domestica. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis, 63: 179-188.
