BG 35 RM 3B-213
35 CONVENT DR
BETHESDA MD 20814
Dr. Feng Luo received a Ph.D. from the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China in 2007. His doctoral work was focused on auditory processing of echolocation calls in bats. Dr. Luo completed his postdoctoral training in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary from 2007 to 2011. He received the AHFMR Gairdner Postdoctoral Fellowship to study learning-induced auditory plasticity and neural mechanism of memory.
From 2011 to 2012, Dr. Luo took a position at the Central China Normal University as a Professor, and his research was supported by grants from the University as well as the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Dr. Luo returned to the University of Calgary working as a research scientist from 2012 to 2018. In 2019, Dr. Luo joined the NINDS as a Staff Scientist.
Cholinergic mechanisms of auditory fear learning and memory
The cholinergic basal forebrain projects to the primary auditory cortex, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala (cortico-hippocampal-amygdalar circuit) which plays an crucial role in regulating auditory fear conditioning and extinction. The specific contribution of cholinergic mechanisms to this neural circuit remains to be explored. Using in vivo and in vitro approaches of electrophysiology, optogenetics, pharmacology and calcium imaging, Dr. Luo is interested in investigating the cholinergic modulation of synaptic transmissions in these brain areas during fear learning and extinction.
Therapeutic effects of cholinergic modulation in neurological disorders
Brain modulation, such as deep brain stimulation is an effective therapy for movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and dystonia as well as psychiatric diseases such as treatment resistant depression. Cholinergic activation may contribute to the therapeutic effects of deep brain stimulation. Dr. Luo would like to ask how the cholinergic system is activated by therapeutic neuromodulation in human and animal models, and how the change of cholinergic tone in the brain may contribute to the improvement of pathological symptoms as well as cognitive functions.