André Fisahn
Affiliated to research
- K6 Department of Women's and Children's Health
- Barnonkologi och Barnkirurgi
- Blomgren
- as Affiliated to research
About me
I am an Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the Center for Alzheimer Research. After receiving my PhD in Neurophysiology from Oxford University (UK) in 1999 I underwent 4 years of postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health (USA). Since 2004 I am a principal investigator at the Karolinska Institute.
Research description
The overall aim of our work is to help explain on a cellular, synaptic and network level the clinically-documented changes of rhythmic network activity caused by various brain disorders that result in cognitive decline and memory deficits in patients. We focus on functional network dynamics and mechanisms of neuronal synchronization in physiological conditions as well as in animal models of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders with the aim to identify and validate potential targets for therapeutic intervention and restoration of cognitive function.
Our core hypothesis postulates that changes to the electrical behavior of neurons and neuronal networks are the first functional impairments in disorders that lead to cognitive decline, and as such are a very reliable functional biomarker. Our work has shown that such functional changes far precede the accumulation of disease-typical classical biomarkers such as amyloid-beta in Alzheimer's disease or alpha-synuclein in Parkinson's disease.
We are particularly interested in the role of fast-spiking interneurons, which experience action potential de-synchronization in disease assays very early on. We believe that rescuing this de-synchronization and restoring normal neuronal network function is the key to identify efficacious treatments for cognitive brain disorders.