Laura Vera Dolon
Post Doc
laura.dolonvera@donders.ru.nl
How do animals navigate a constantly changing world? Effective navigation relies on updating prior knowledge with new information. However, the mechanisms behind long-term memory updates are not yet fully understood.
My academic journey began with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, where I discovered my passion for understanding the neural mechanisms behind adaptive behaviours. This passion led me to pursue a master’s in Neuroscience (Institute Cajal, Madrid; Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Liset Menendez de la Prida), where I was introduced to the world of electrophysiology and behavioural neuroscience. Later, during my PhD in Germany (Ruhr University; Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Denise Manahan-Vaughan), I delved deeply into hippocampal place cell dynamics and investigated their firing patterns in rats as they modified learned associations to adapt to new circumstances. During my Phd work, I observed that strong firing dynamics in place cells may signal the formation of a new memory trace, while more subtle modifications in their firing activity may suggests modification of an existing one. This work ignited my curiosity about the role of hippocampal place cells in modulating complex behavior and updating long-term memory. At Genzel’s lab, I am focusing on studying place cell dynamics using the innovative HexMaze, particularly their role in spatial schema updates. My current objective is to explore whether the schema effect—specifically the expedited consolidation of new long-term memories—involves creating new memory traces or modifying pre-existing ones. To achieve this, I am combining the HexMaze paradigm designed by Dr. Lisa Genzel and her team with high-density recordings of hippocampal activity.
I am excited about how this work may deepen our understanding of how animals adapt their behaviour in a chaotic and ever-changing world!