Research Axis
Brain and Child Development Axis
Research Theme
Neurodevelopmental diseases
Address
CHUSJ - Centre de Recherche
Phone
514-345-4931, ext. 7838
Career Summary
The brain is a mosaic of different regions each having defined functions. These brain regions communicate together in a complex language to generate behavior. Dr Bénédicte Amilhon’s laboratory studies the neural circuits underlying emotional behavior, with focus on the link between emotions and memory. Memories formed in heavy emotional contexts, either positive or negative, leave a strong imprint in our minds. The Amilhon lab aims to dissect the neuronal networks underlying this modulation of memory formation by emotional state. We are mainly interested in the different projection pathways connecting the raphe nuclei, essential in emotional information processing, and the hippocampus, a key brain region in memory formation. To understand the roles of neurons from the raphe–hippocampus pathways, the Amilhon lab combines techniques such as in vivo and in vitro electrophysiology, optogenetics, calcium imaging and behavioral studies.
Bénédicte Amilhon obtained her PhD at Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris VI (France) in 2009. She then joined the laboratory of Pr Sylvain Williams for her postdoc (Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University) where her work has addressed the role of interneurons in generation and modulation of theta rhythm in the hippocampus. Dr Amilhon joined the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center in 2017.