Academic Office:
LSUHSC School of Medicine
Neuroscience Center of Excellence
2020 Gravier St., room 905
New Orleans, LA 70112
504-599-0869
Bio
I am an expert in the techniques of in vitro patch-clamp electrophysiology combined with dynamic clamp, two-photon and high-speed confocal imaging, glutamate uncaging, and optogenetics; for the past twenty years, I have used a combination of these techniques to study dendritic and synaptic integration in pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. In this context, I have contributed seminal papers that have altered the traditional view of information processing in these brain regions, focusing on how the interplay between dendritic ion channels and synaptic inputs affect information processing in a state-dependent manner. More recently, I focused on how these processes are altered by neuromodulators such as acetylcholine. Our in vitro approach allows access and control of neuronal networks and enables us to dissect mechanisms underlying modulation of hippocampal CA1 activity in a way that is complementary to the in vivo experiments conducted by other labs. I also collaborate with computational neuroscientists; the combination of experiments and simulations is very powerful, and the results are more than simply additive; simulations can be used to query each aspect of a biological phenomenon in a way that is otherwise limited by available pharmacology or technology.
Positions
Professor of Neuroscience and Cell Biology and Anatomy, Neuroscience Center of Excellence, LSUHSC, 2020-present
Faculty Liaison for the School of Graduate Studies, Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice, LSUHSC, 2015-2021
Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Cell Biology and Anatomy, Neuroscience Center of Excellence, LSUHSC, 2014-2020
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Cell Biology and Anatomy, Neuroscience Center, LSUHSC, 2010-2014
Research Assistant Professor, Neuroscience Center, LSUHSC, 2005-2010
Postdoctoral fellow, Neuroscience Center, LSUHSC, New Orleans, LA, 2001-2004
Postdoctoral fellow, Biophysics Sector, SISSA-ISAS, Trieste Italy, 1998-2000
Education
PhD in Physiology, University of Milano, Italy, 1994-1998
BSc in Biology, University of Milano, Italy, 1989-1994
Awards/Honors
Guest Lecturer in the course: “Ion Channels in Synaptic and Neural Circuit Physiology”, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 2017-present
Jack Hines III Memorial Award for Outstanding Service to the LSUHSC School of Graduate Studies, 2015
LSU School of Medicine Faculty Assembly Outstanding Service to the Community award
LSU School of Medicine Alumni Excellence Award, 2011
Invited speaker at the Gordon Research Conference “Dendrites: Molecules, Structure and Function”, Il Ciocco, Italy, 2009
Dart Neuroscience Scholars Program in Learning and Memory Award (PI), 2008
Albert and Ellen Grass Faculty Program Award (PI), 2007
Albert and Ellen Grass Faculty Program Award (PI), 2005
NARSAD Young Investigator Award, 2002-2004
Ochsner Clinic Foundation Research Award, 2002
Selected Publications
Combe CL, Upchurch CM, Canavier CC, Gasparini S. (2023). Cholinergic modulation shifts the response of CA1 pyramidal cells to depolarizing ramps via TRPM4 channels with potential implications for place field firing. Elife. 2023; 12: e84387.
Upchurch CM, Combe CL, Knowlton CJ, Rousseau VG, Gasparini S.*, Canavier CC* (2022). Long-Term Inactivation of Sodium Channels as a Mechanism of Adaptation in CA1 Pyramidal Neurons. J Neurosci. 2022; 42(18):3768-3782. *These authors jointly supervised this project
Combe CL, Gasparini S. (2021) Ih from synapses to networks: HCN channel functions and modulation in neurons. Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 166:119-132.
Combe CL, Canavier CC, Gasparini S. (2018) Intrinsic Mechanisms of Frequency Selectivity in the Proximal Dendrites of CA1 Pyramidal Neurons. J Neurosci.; 38(38):8110-8127. Highlighted in The Journal of Neuroscience “This Week in the Journal”
Medinilla V, Johnson O, Gasparini S. (2013). Features of proximal and distal excitatory synaptic inputs to layer V neurons of the rat medial entorhinal cortex. J Physiol. 2013; 591(1):169-183
Ascoli, G.*, Gasparini, S.*, Medinilla, V. & Migliore, M. (2010). Local control of post-inhibitory rebound spiking in CA1 pyramidal neuron dendrites. J. Neurosci. 30: 6434-6442. *These authors contributed equally
Gasparini S. & Magee, J. C. (2006). State-dependent dendritic computation in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. J. Neurosci. 26: 2088-2100. Reviewed in the “Journal of Neuroscience Journal Club” (http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/25/6664). Recommended by Faculty of 1000™
Gasparini, S., Migliore, M. & Magee, J. C. (2004). On the initiation and propagation of dendritic spikes in CA1 pyramidal neurons. J. Neurosci. 24: 11046-11056. Highlighted in The Journal of Neuroscience “This Week in the Journal”
Research
The hippocampus plays an important role in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory. It is one of the first regions of the brain to be affected in Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Damage limited to the hippocampal formation is sufficient to produce an amnesic syndrome characterized by near-complete anterograde amnesia.
The cholinergic system that arises from the basal forebrain is implicated in cognitive functions including attention and learning and memory; dysfunctions of this system are thought to play a role in cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. The non-selective cholinergic muscarinic antagonist scopolamine impairs memory encoding; conversely, allosteric modulators of M1 and M4 muscarinic receptors are employed in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, cholinesterase inhibitors, which increase the amount of acetylcholine in the brain by preventing its breakdown, are prescribed to treat symptoms related to memory in mild cognitive impairment.
Although in vivo studies are necessary to determine how circuits function in intact organisms, in vitro studies provide better control to dissect the multiple effects of acetylcholine. In our research, we employ electrophysiological techniques (dendritic and somatic patch clamp recordings) coupled with optogenetic activation of cholinergic fibers in hippocampal slices to understand the mechanisms involved in cholinergic neuromodulation. We recently discovered that TRPM4 channels underlie the Ca2+-activated nonspecific cation current ICAN evoked by acetylcholine in CA1 hippocampal neurons. Moreover, we found that acetylcholine increases neuronal excitability via activation of TRPM4 channels, resulting in the induction of dendritic plateau potentials, that are essential for the synaptic plasticity that underlies memory processing.
By unraveling the mechanisms of cholinergic neuromodulation in the hippocampus, our studies will increase our knowledge of memory processing at the cellular level. Relating pathological effects to physiological properties of neuronal compartments that have not been fully explored, such as dendrites, and how these properties are modulated, will provide insights for novel points of therapeutic intervention that may lead to improved therapies for cognitive disorders.
Research Interests
Information processing and memory formation. Dendritic excitability and plasticity: synaptic transmission and voltage-dependent channel activity in hippocampal and entorhinal neurons. Neuromodulation.
Funding
“Synaptic Integration in Radial Oblique Dendrites”
Principal Investigator: Sonia Gasparini, PhD
Agency: NINDS/NIH (R01NS35865). Period: 9/15/2006 - 01/31/2011
“Dendritic Integration in the Entorhinal Cortex”
Principal Investigator: Sonia Gasparini, PhD
Agency: NINDS/NIH (R01NS69714). Period: 4/1/2010 - 03/31/2016
CRCNS: Cholinergic contribution to hippocampal information processing
Principal Investigator: Sonia Gasparini, PhD and Carmen Canavier, PhD (multiPI)
Agency: NIMH/NIH (R01MH115832). Period: 8/15/2017 - 5/31/2023