Sanghun Lee

My lab studies how inhibitory circuits in hippocampal and thalamocortical networks regulate neural activity by examining the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of these circuits in normal and pathological conditions. Our current research is primarily focused on hippocampal interneurons, not only because they critically regulate hippocampal network activity (e.g., gamma oscillations) and excitability, but also because abnormal interneuron activity in the brain may be mechanistically connected to spontaneous seizures and cognitive deficits in epilepsy. Unravelling hippocampal interneurons requires a deep understanding of the neural circuits in which they are embedded at multiple levels of organization, including distinct cell types, local circuits, and long-range circuits. Through the study of precisely defined components of these neuronal circuits, my lab currently determines intrinsic, synaptic, and circuit mechanisms underlying spontaneous seizures and impaired hippocampal network activity in temporal lobe epilepsy. My lab employs an interdisciplinary approach that includes in vitro and in vivo electrophysiological, optogenetic, imaging, anatomical, molecular, and pharmacological techniques, as well as behavioral tests, using the mouse as a model and human brain organoids. I have collaborated with leading experts at CSU and other schools, including Drs. Bret Smith and Seonil Kim (CSU), Dr. Inhyun Park (Yale University), and Dr. Sabato Santaniello (UConn). Through these collaborations, I have gained access to technical approaches that include, but are not limited to, mouse models of acquired epilepsies (Smith), calcium imaging (Kim), mouse behavioral tests (Kim), human brain organoids (Park), and Matlab codes for data analyses of hippocampal network oscillations (Santaniello).