A Mouldable Mind: EU Funds Bonn Neuroscientist with around Two Million Euros

Sabine Krabbe will investigate how neurotransmitters influence the brain and mental health

DZNE scientist Dr. Sabine Krabbe is receiving around two million euros to study how the brain changes due to stress and fear – and how it learns to deal with such emotions. The European Research Council (ERC) is providing these funds as part of a prestigious “Consolidator Grant”. Her research project focuses on chemicals of the brain that influence the connectivity of neurons and regulate behavior in situations of fear and anxiety. The neuroscientist hopes that these studies, which will be done on mice, will provide new insights into fundamental brain processes and the development of psychiatric disorders.

“Our ability to learn from challenges or threats has been essential for survival during evolution and is still very relevant for our daily lives. However, if these learning processes are disrupted, it can lead to anxiety disorders,” says Sabine Krabbe. “We therefore want to investigate how the brain learns to deal with stress- and fearful situations and how behavior develops from this.” Specifically, the aim is to determine how specific neurotransmitters, known as neuropeptides, influence the brain and thereby control adaptive, emotionally influenced reactions. “Processes like these are of great significance for mental health. Our findings could not only deepen our understanding of how the brain works, but also open new avenues for developing treatments for anxiety and related conditions,” says Krabbe.

Focus on the emotion center

Krabbe and her team will examine these neurological phenomena in mice. The research project is scheduled for five years and combines extensive behavioral experiments with state-of-the-art microscopy techniques that enable the observation of individual brain cells. As in other projects of her research group, the focus is on the “amygdala”: a brain region that plays a crucial role in controlling emotions and resulting behavior. “The amygdala has a similar structure and function in all mammals. I am hoping that our observations in mice will reveal universal principles about how the brain protects us from stress and fear,” says Krabbe.

On the trail of neuropeptides

Neuropeptides are small proteins and are among the numerous “neurotransmitters” that relay signals within the brain. “In the brain’s networks, there is constant interplay. Some transmitters quickly boost neuronal activity, while others have an immediate inhibitory effect. Neuropeptides fit in neither of these categories – they can slowly modulate neurons,” says Krabbe. “You can think of it like this: In contrast to signaling a simple ‘run’ or ‘stop’ to other neurons, neuropeptides can add graded instructions – for example ‘power walk while looking to your right’. Furthermore, neuropeptides can act over long timescales, which means that they may influence our brain over hours, days or weeks. In this way, neuropeptides can modulate vital states such as fear, aggression or hunger over long periods of time. Therefore, they are central to our behavior and well-being.”

The adaptive brain

The findings of the forthcoming research project may also be significant in terms of Alzheimer’s disease, as neuropeptides play a key role for “neuroplasticity”. This term describes the brain’s ability to adapt, particularly its capacity to interconnect neurons. By means of these couplings, the brain can change, learn from experiences and generate memories. In dementia this ability is impaired. “The brain processes we are looking at are so fundamental that insights could arise for many areas,” says Krabbe.