The focus of my research is how astrocytes modulate the activity of midbrain dopamine neurons. Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cell in the brain and it is increasingly recognized that they play a crucial role in regulating neuronal activity and synaptic physiology. The activity of astrocytes can have major consequences for synaptic plasticity in the midbrain, and thus dopamine-dependent behaviors and pharmacological responses.

Samir Haj-Dahmane, PhD