Dr Marlies Oostland

Our general hypothesis is that molecular mechanisms that configure neuronal responses to synaptic input are critical for coordinated behaviour and differ between neuronal cell types.

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Personal profile

  • 2015 – present: Postdoctoral Research Fellow on a Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) project investigating probabilistic computation of location in the rodent hippocampus, in the lab of Matt Nolan, Centre for Integrative Physiology, University of Edinburgh.
  • 2013 – 2014: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the lab of Matt Nolan in collaboration with Ian Duguid, Centre for Integrative Physiology, University of Edinburgh. I studied neuronal mechanisms underlying HCN1-dependent motor behaviour deficits in the cerebellum, using in vivo whole-cell patch clamp recordings in awake behaving mice. This project was funded by the Wellcome Trust.
  • 2008 – 2012: PhD in Neuroscience in the lab of Hans van Hooft and Wytse Wadman, SILS Centre for Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam. My PhD project focused on serotonergic modulation of the cerebellum during postnatal development, using a wide range of electrophysiological and molecular techniques.
  • 2008: Research project in the lab of Scarlett Pinnock and Joe Herbert, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge.
  • 2006 – 2008: MSc Biomedical Sciences, track Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam.
  • 2003 – 2006: BSc Psychobiology, University of Amsterdam.

Research

[scald=53553:sdl_editor_representation {"alt":"neurons in CA1","caption":"We recorded neurons in CA1 of the hippocampus of awake behaving mice in a virtual reality setup using a 64 channel silicon probe. The four shanks of the probe were labelled with DiI (green), and the trace of the probe can be seen in CA1. Neurons of the hippocampus are labelled with Neurotrace (red)."}]
[scald=53552:sdl_editor_representation {"alt":"Histology cerebellum and climbing fibers","caption":"To knock down HCN1 in neurons of the inferior olive (IO) and in climbing fibers in the cerebellar cortex, we injected AAV co-expressing EGFP and interfering RNAs targeted against HCN1 via the foramen magnum into the inferior olive. (A) Example of AAV expression (labelled with EGFP) in the brainstem and cerebellar cortex, four weeks after injection. IO neurons and Purkinje cells in the cerebellar cortex are labelled with calbindin. (B) Example of AAV expression in climbing fibers in the cerebellar cortex (white box in A)."}]

I investigate the computational mechanisms in the brain during spatial navigation. To study this I make single-unit extracellular recordings in vivo using multichannel silicon probes from awake behaving mice which are engaged in a behavioural task while headfixed in a virtual reality setup.

This project is funded by the Human Frontier Science Programme, and performed in the lab of Prof. Matt Nolan and in collaboration with Prof. Thomas Wolbers (Magdeburg, Germany) and Dr. Ila Fiete (Austin, Texas, USA).

Funding

Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP)

Collaborations

  • Dr Ila Fiete, Center for Learning and Memory, University of Texas at Austin, USA
  • Dr Ingmar Kanitschneider, Center for Learning and Memory, University of Texas at Austin, USA
  • Prof Thomas Wolbers, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Die Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, Germany
  • Dr Xiaoli Chen, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Die Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, Germany

Selected publications

M Oostland, M Jelitai, D Garden, I Duguid, MF Nolan. Knockdown of HCN1 channels in the inferior olive results in motor behaviour deficits. In: The 7th International Symposium of SRC - Brussels 2015. Cerebellum, 2016.

M Oostland and JA van Hooft. Serotonin in the Cerebellum. Book chapter in: Essentials of Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders. A Primer for Graduate Students. Editors: D.L. Gruol, N. Koibuchi, M. Manto, M. Molinari, J.D. Schmahmann, Y. Shen. Springer International Publishing, 2016.

M Oostland, MR Buijink, GM Teunisse, L von Oerthel, MP Smidt, JA van Hooft. Distinct temporal expression of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors on cerebellar granule cells in mice. Cerebellum, 2014.

M Oostland, JA van Hooft. The role of serotonin in cerebellar development. Neuroscience 248, 201-212, 2013.

M Oostland, MR Buijink, JA van Hooft. Serotonergic control of Purkinje cell maturation and climbing fibre elimination by 5-HT3 receptors in the juvenile mouse cerebellum. Journal of Physiology 591, 1793-1807, 2013.

M Oostland, J Sellmeijer, JA van Hooft. Transient expression of functional serotonin 5-HT3 receptors by glutamatergic granule cells in the early postnatal mouse cerebellum. Journal of Physiology 589, 4837-4846, 2011.

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