"Making, breaking, and linking memories in mice"

Dr. Josselyn seeks to understand the neural basis of cognitive function and dysfunction. The guiding rationale behind her work is that long-term memory (LTM) involves structural re-modeling of synaptic connections and consequently, requires gene expression and de novo protein synthesis. Her work focuses on the transcription factors that regulate the protein synthesis necessary for LTM formation to determine whether disruptions of intracellular pathways linked to transcription factors may contribute to human cognitive impairments and whether these transcription factors may ultimately serve as therapeutic targets in the treatments of these disorders.