University at Albany · BiologyHippocampal Signaling and Memory Unit
Annalisa Scimemi · Albany, New York
Research Focus
Dr. Annalisa Scimemi's lab studies how specific brain cells, called pyramidal cells, integrate different types of signals in the hippocampus, which is critical for memory and spatial navigation. The lab investigates how a neurotransmitter called glutamate, which is important for communication between neurons, can affect both excitatory and inhibitory signals onto these pyramidal cells. Understanding these mechanisms may help develop new treatments for conditions like epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder.
glutamatehippocampuspyramidal neuronssynaptic inhibitionelectrophysiologyneurotransmitter releaseinhibitory synapsesneurological disordersneuronal circuitsspatial memory
Research Aims
4AIM 01Determine how glutamate spillover affects excitatory and inhibitory inputs to pyramidal neurons.
AIM 02Identify intracellular signaling pathways linked to mGluRIII receptor activation.
AIM 03Investigate different types of mGluRIII receptor locations at inhibitory synapses.
AIM 04Examine how mGluRIII activation influences spatial information encoding in CA1 place cells.
Skills the Lab Values
electrophysiologyin vitro techniquesin vivo techniqueselectron microscopyanimal modelsneuroanatomical techniquessynaptic analysisdata analysiscell culture
Output against the department
Publications129bottom 46% of dept.552nd of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.4kbottom 17% of dept.856th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.