Stephan Nauroth

Full member: January 2010 - October 2011

Dissertation title: Establishment and use of fMRI at 17.6 Tesla in genetically modified mice
Abstract: Depression and anxiety disorders belong to the most frequent psychiatric disorders. A known risk factor for the development of psychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety disorders are Alterations in the function of the serotonergic system. Serotonin (5-HT) is an important monoamine neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and plays an important role in the modulation of sleep, addiction, food intake, fear, aggression and learning. In humans, a correlation between impaired 5-HT reuptake and increased neuronal activity in the amygdala in response to fearful stimuli has been shown. The amygdala is known for its key role in the development of fear and emotions. It is likely that an elevated activity in the amygdala has a strong effect on the development of psychiatric diseases.
For our experiments we work with the 5-Htt KO mouse model which shows an impaired 5-HT reuptake and is a known animal model for depression and anxiety disorders.
The goal of my doctor thesis is the establishment of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) at 17.6 Tesla for the examination of the amygdala activity in the 5-Htt KO mouse model. This would further strengthen the 5-Htt KO mouse model as an animal model for depression and anxiety disorders and would provide a tool to investigate the interaction of amygdala-activity with fear response. Following method development, a comparison of the amygdala-activity between 5-Htt KO mice and the corresponding wild-type mice is planned. Additionally it is planned to investigate amygdala activity differences between several mouse strains with different levels of anxiety.

Principal investigator:

Prof. Dr. Klaus-Peter Lesch
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg
Füchsleinstraße 15, 97080 Würzburg, Germany

Current position: