Golan Karvat

University of Freiburg | Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg · Institute of Biology III

Deciphering the neural code underlying goal-directed behavior is a long-term mission in neuroscience 1,2 . Neurons exhibiting preparation and movement-related activity are intermingled in the premotor and motor cortices 3,4 , thus concealing the neural code of planned movements. We employed a combination of electrophysiology, pathway-specific optog...

Significance Humans and animals recognize light tactile stimulations on some occasions while at others miss even stronger stimuli. The explanation of this apparent paradox lies in the competition between spontaneously and externally evoked responses in the brain. Brief bursts of beta-oscillations have been implicated in reduced detection rates, yet...

Tactile sensation is one of our primary means to collect information about the nearby environment and thus crucial for daily activities and survival. Therefore, it is of high importance to restore sensory feedback after sensory loss. Optogenetic manipulation allows local or pathway-specific write-in of information. However, it remains elusive wheth...

The activity state of neuronal populations is key to understanding information processing in the brain. Most of our knowledge about sensory processing and perception comes from studying local changes in firing rates and local field potentials (LFP) evoked by external stimuli. However, most of the cortical activity is generated intrinsically, can or...

Neural oscillations as important information carrier in the brain, are increasingly interpreted as transient bursts rather than as sustained oscillations. Short (<150 ms) bursts of beta-waves (15–30 Hz) have been documented in humans, monkeys and mice. These events were correlated with memory, movement and perception, and were even suggested as the...

Neural oscillations are increasingly interpreted as transient bursts, yet a method to measure these short-lived events in real-time is missing. Here we present a real-time data analysis system, capable to detect short and narrowband bursts, and demonstrate its usefulness for volitional increase of beta-band burst-rate in rats. This neurofeedback-tr...

The combination of optogenetic interventions and behavioral assays allows investigating causal effects of neural activity with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. However, utilizing the technique also requires special considerations in designing the experimental procedures and assigning controls. In this chapter, we give an overview of t...

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by social communication deficits, cognitive rigidity, and repetitive stereotyped behaviors. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have a paracrine regenerative effect, and were speculated to be a potential therapy for ASD. The BTBR inbred mouse strain is a commonly used model of ASD as it demonstrates robust...

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is defined by behavioral deficits in social interaction, communication, repetitive stereotyped behaviors and restricted interests/ cognitive rigidity. Recent studies in humans and mice suggested that dysfunction of the cholinergic system may underlie autism-related behavioral symptoms. Here we tested the hypothesis t...

Three core symptoms of autistic spectrum disorders are stereotypic movements, resistance to change in routines and deficits in social interaction. In order to understand their neuronal mechanisms, there is a dire need for behavioral paradigms to assess those symptoms in rodents. Here we present a novel method which is based on positive reward in a...