Naveen Gajendra Kumar
Visualizing deep hippocampus neuronal functional activity in vivo using ultra-thin 2-photon endoscopes
Team: Rosa Cossart (INMED) - Hervé Rigneault (Institut Fresnel)
His background
January 2020 - present | CENTURI PhD student
2014 - 2016 | MSc in Photonics - Aix-Marseille University (France)
2014 - 2016 | Master of Technology in Nanotechnology - Natonal Insttute of Technology Karnataaa (Surathaal, India)
2008 - 2012 | Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communicaton - University of Kerala (India)
About his PhD project
Most brain functions are encoded by specific neuronal activity patterns with characteristic temporal and spatial dynamics. This proposal will focus on the hippocampus, a brain region supporting memory and encoding spatial and temporal information. Hippocampal dynamics result from the interaction between self-organized internal dynamics and various external inputs from the environment. We want to know how development shapes the final functional organization of adult hippocampal networks: do they self-organize through the interaction of active neurons or do they emerge in reference to a blueprint determined by early developmental programs like genetic factors? To image and record the deep hippocampus neuron activity we have been developing an ultra-thin flexible endoscope that is able to perform 2-photon imaging deep in the brain at depth location that are inaccessible using 2-photon microscopy.