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.
Schizophrenia gene Crmp2 deficiency causes precocious CP plasticity and deteriorated binocular vision.
Deletion of Schizophrenia risk-gene Crmp2 in the mouse recapitulates many schizophrenia-like behaviors . In this study, we found that in the developing V1, Crmp2 deficiency induces a precocious CP，casued by early emergence of balanced excitatory-inhibitory circuits. The precocious CP plasticity results in deteriorated binocular depth perception in adulthood. Our findings reveal that Crmp2 deficiency dysregulates the timing of CP for experience-dependent refinement of circuit connections and further leads to impaired sensory perception in later life.