Topics covered include:

• mechanisms of neuron-astrocyte signal exchange in the hippocampus and their relevance for synaptic transmission and its plasticity, for hippocampus-dependent cognitive processes and behaviors such as spatial navigation
• research methods will be selected from:
  • multiphoton fluorescence imaging and its applications for studying astrocyte/neuron signaling (e.g. Ca2+ imaging) and structural plasticity
  • advanced imaging techniques of optical indicators (e.g. FRET, FLIM) and indicator development (e.g. in HEK cells, acute brain slices)
  • electrophysiological methods like the patch clamp technique
  • super-resolution microscopy (expansion microscopy)
  • introduction to behavioral analyses (e.g. spatial memory, machine-learning based analysis)