Cellular mechanisms and brains systems underpinning natural and dysregulated forgetting. Dr Oliver Hardt Research Fellow Hugh Robson Building 15 George Square Edinburgh, EH8 9XD Contact details Email: oliver.hardt@ed.ac.uk Personal profile Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh since 2016 Chancellors Fellow at the University of Edinburgh from 2013-2016 Post-doctoral work at McGill in Behavioural Neuroscience. PhD in Psychology (Cognitive Neuroscience) at the University of Arizona Research Theme Synapses, Circuits and Behaviour Genes and Development Ageing and Degeneration Research Although most memories are eventually forgotten, we are just beginning to understand how and why the brain forgets. My research therefore investigates mechanisms responsible for the natural loss of memory from a cellular and systems perspective, and how the dysregulation of these processes can contribute to neuropathology in autism spectrum disorder and Alzheimer’s disease. As I use rats as model organisms, I am developing methods that allow them to express their full behavioural repertoire, addressing animal welfare issues while increasing the validity of our research outcomes. I am collaborating closely with Dr Peter Kind and Dr Emma Wood to pursue these goals at the University of Edinburgh. Funding Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain - SIDB NSERC (The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) LouLou Foundation Team members Anjanette Harris Collaborations Peter Kind, University of Edinburgh Emma Wood, University of Edinburgh Virginia Migues, McGill University Shona Chatterji, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore Tara Spires-Jones, University of Edinburgh Wayne Sossin, McGill University Lynn Nadel, University of Arizona Selected Publications Hardt, O., & Sossin, W. S. (2020). Terminological and Epistemological Issues in Current Memory Research. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 12. Tulloch, J., Netsyk, O., Pickett, E. K., Herrmann, A. G., Jain, P., Stevenson, A. J. et al. (2020). Maintained memory and long-term potentiation in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease with both amyloid pathology and human tau. Eur J Neurosci, 53, 637-648. Anstey, N. J., Kapgal, V., Tiwari, S., Watson, T. C., Toft, A. K. H., Dando, O. R. et al. (2020). Imbalance of flight-freeze responses and their cellular correlates in the Nlgn3-/y rat model of autism. Migues, P. V., Wong, J., Lyu, J., & Hardt, O. (2019). NMDA receptor activity bidirectionally controls active decay of long-term spatial memory in the dorsal hippocampus. Hippocampus, 29(9), 883-888. Pickett, E. K., Herrmann, A. G., McQueen, J., Abt, K., Dando, O., Tulloch, J. et al. (2019). Amyloid Beta and Tau Cooperate to Cause Reversible Behavioral and Transcriptional Deficits in a Model of Alzheimer’s Disease. Cell Rep, 29(11), 3592-3604.e5. Hardt, O., & Nadel, L. (2018). Systems consolidation revisited, but not revised: The promise and limits of optogenetics in the study of memory. Neurosci Lett, 680, 54-59.