Contact Us: The NCP Lab is located in the 3rd (Zen) Yard in the campus of Beijing Normal University , Beijing, China. Dr. Xiaohui Zhang ; Phone: (010) 5880-4978.
Exp. Tools: We use multiple approaches including electrophysiology (in vivo and slices), optogenetics, cellular imaging, and transgenic mouse models of brain diseases.
Research Direction
- Our research is focused on elucidating corticohippocampal circuitry mechanisms that underlie associative learning, spatial navigation and critical period plasticity of the brain.
New approach for directly converting astrocytes into neurons by Ascl-1 in vivo.
Our study, collaborated with Dr. Le-ping Cheng's group at ION, CAS, showed that expression of single transcriptor factor Ascl1 alone is sufficient to convert astrocytes directly into functional neurons in the intact mouse brain. The transdifferentiated neurons functionally mature progressively and form afferent and efferent functional synapses with existing neighboring neurons in the striatum and neocortex circuits in both the postnatal and adult mouse brain. Thus, our work offers a potential therapeutic approach with single TF induced glia reprogramming for neural regeneration.