Area of research
Developmental Neuroscience · Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Research interest
Research topics from publications: S-ketamine exposure in early postnatal period induces social deficit mediated by excessive microglial synaptic pruning; Time‐Dependent Therapeutic Effect of S ‐Ketamine on PTSD Mediated by VTA‐OFC Dopaminergic Neurocircuit. Representative work: The impact of general anesthetics on neurodevelopment is highly controversial in terms of clinical and preclinical studies. Evidence mounted in recent years indicated development of social cognitions was more susceptible to general anesthesia in early life. However, the behavioral characterization during adolescence and underlying mechanisms remains unclear. Herein, we observed that early postnatal S-ketamine exposure specifically induced deficits in sociability and social cognition via a machine learning assistant behavioral analysis toolbox- Social Behavioral Atlas (SBeA). Furthermore, S-ketamine exposure constantly activates microglia in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), mediating excessive sy Abstract Current pharmacotherapies for post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are limited by delayed onset and side effects. Despite ketamine exhibiting rapid relief of the core symptoms of PTSD, its clinical efficacy varies considerably depending on the timing of drug delivery. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, the therapeutic effects of early (day 1) and late (day 7) administration of S ‐Ketamine on behavioral phenotypes in rodent's models of PTSD are compared. It is observed that early rather than late administration of S ‐Ketamine significantly ameliorates PTSD symptoms, especially impaired fear extinction. The firing and burst rates of VTA DA neurons conse