Speaker
Description
Neural circuits underpin behavior, yet dissecting their function at single-cell resolution remains challenging due to complexity and inaccessibility in vivo. In this talk, I will show how larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) enables optical approaches that connect brain-wide activity to circuit organization and behavior. Leveraging volumetric calcium imaging, I will present experiments probing experience-dependent plasticity through manipulations of sensory input and neuromodulatory state, combining recordings of spontaneous and visually evoked activity to reveal circuit reorganization during development. I will then discuss ongoing work on disease models created using CRISPR, using imaging-based measurements of visual responses and retinotopy to characterize how genetic perturbations impact circuit development. Finally, I will outline future directions toward more complex behaviors, including social interactions in juvenile fish.
Marica Albanesi is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Padua, where she also completed her PhD in Neuroscience in 2024, investigating how psychoactive drugs affect neural plasticity during development. Her work is centered on linking behavior to neural activity, with a focus on multiphoton calcium recordings and virtual reality to record and perturb behavior.
