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.
Perinatal exposure to Zika virus causes variable defects in brain funcitons.
In this international collaboration study, the teams from China, Brazil and USA have identifed a spectrum of neurodevelopmental abnormalities in both children and mice. Among the findings, we revealed that although mouse brains infected later after birth do not have apparent abnormal brain structure, those mice still show significant impairments of visual cortical functions, circuit organization, and experience-dependent plasticity. Thus, special attention should be paid to all children born to ZIKV infected mothers for screening of abnormal behaviors and sensory function during childhood.