WELCOME TO THE GRIFFIN LAB
GRIFFIN LAB MEMBERS
AMY GRIFFIN
Principal Investigator
Amy received her PhD from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Memory and Brain at Boston University. She is an associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
JOHN STOUT
Graduate Student
John received his BS in Neuroscience in 2017 and MS in Neuroscience in 2018 from UD. He began the doctoral program in 2019.
ZACH GEMZIK
Graduate Student
Zach received his BS in Neuroscience in 2016 and served as the Griffin Lab manager from 2016-2020. He will begin the doctoral program in the fall of 2020.
SUHYEONG KIM
Graduate Student
SuHyeong earned her BS in Biology at University of Colorado, Denver and her MS in Neuroscience at the University of Texas at Dallas.
ALLISON GEORGE
Lab Manager
Allison earned her BS in Neuroscience with Honors from UD in May, 2020 and began working as the Griffin Lab manager in August, 2020.
KAYLA CLEVENGER
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Kayla is a sophomore Neuroscience major and Honors student
HAILEY ROSENBLUM
Undergraduate research assistant
Hailey is a junior with majors in Neuroscience and Spanish Studies and a minor in Biochemistry. She is also in the Honors College.
AUSTIN CESTONE
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Austin is a junior honors student with majors in Neuroscience and Psychology and a minor in Chemistry
RESEARCH
Current Areas of Study
HIPPOCAMPAL-PREFRONTAL SYNCHRONY IN WORKING MEMORY
Funded by: 1R01MH102394
The guiding hypothesis of the current proposal is that hippocampal-prefrontal (HC-PFC) oscillatory synchrony is regulated by the ventral midline thalamic nucleus reuniens (Nre). The proposed studies will use a combination of electrophysiological methods, bidirectional optogenetic manipulation of neuronal excitation, and behavior to investigate the role of Nre activity in HC-PFC synchrony and working memory performance.
USING HIPPOCAMPAL-PREFRONTAL SYNCHRONY TO ENHANCE SPATIAL WORKING MEMORY
Funded by: 1R21MH117687
Working memory deficits, a common problem shared by many neuropsychiatric disorders, are accompanied by reduced oscillatory synchrony within the hippocampal-prefrontal circuit. One possible solution to ameliorating working memory impairments could be to develop ways to restore hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony. In a first step toward this goal, the current project aims to enhance working memory performance by harnessing and manipulating hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony, an approach that can be used in future work to rescue cognitive deficits in both animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders and patient populations.
HIPPOCAMPAL-THALAMO-PREFRONTAL CIRCUITRY DAMAGE AND THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION IN A MODEL OF FASD
Funded by: 1R01AA027269, Collaboration with Dr. Anna Klintsova
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) symptoms include life-long significant behavioral abnormalities paralleled by brain damage. This project will explore previously undescribed damage to the thalamic nucleus reuniens and its role in hippocampal-prefrontal cortex communication following alcohol exposure during the third trimester of human pregnancy. We employ an animal model of alcohol exposure during third trimester to establish the relationship between structure, connectivity, and function of this circuitry and to demonstrate beneficial effects of therapeutic intervention via exercise and environmental complexity.