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Jill Leutgeb

Research

How do neural networks in the brain support the formation of distinct and long-lasting memories? Dr. Jill Leutgeb’s research is focused on understanding these questions by identifying neural circuit computations which underlie learning and memory. In addition, she also investigates how the function of memory circuits is altered in the development and expression of acquired epilepsies. Her laboratory combines high-density electrophysiology with behavioral testing, theoretical modeling, and pharmacological and molecular manipulations as a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the neural basis of cognition. By understanding the biological basis of memory in health and its dysfunction in disease, the long-term research goals of Dr. Leutgeb’s laboratory are to develop new therapeutic approaches for restoring memory loss and for seizure prediction, intervention, or prevention.

Select Publications

  • Chenani A, Sabariego M, Schlesiger MI, Leutgeb JK, Leutgeb S, Leibold C (2019) Hippocampal CA1 replay becomes less prominent but more rigid without inputs from medial entorhinal cortex. Nat Commun, 10:1341.
  • Diehl GW, Hon OJ, Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK (2019) Stability of medial entorhinal cortex representations over time. Hippocampus, 29:284.
  • Ewell LA, Fischer KB, Leibold C, Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK (2019) The impact of pathological high frequency oscillations on hippocampal network activity in rats with chronic epilepsy. eLife, 8:e42148. doi:10.7554/eLife.42148.
  • Sabariego M, Schӧnwald A, Boublil BL, Zimmerman DT, Ahmadi S, Gonzalez N, Leibold C, Clark RE, Leutgeb JK, Leutgeb S. (2019) Time cells in the hippocampus are neither dependent on mEC inputs nor necessary for spatial working memory. Neuron, doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-09280-0.
  • Sanders H, Ji D, Sasaki T, Leutgeb JK, Wilson MA, Lisman JE (2019) Temporal coding and rate remapping: Representation of non-spatial information in the hippocampus. Hippocampus, 29:111-127.
  • Zutshi I, Fu M, Lilascharoen V, Leutgeb JK, Lim BK, Leutgeb S (2018) Recurrent circuits within medial entorhinal cortex superficial layers support grid cell firing. Nat Commun, 9:3701-3716.
  • Sasaki T, Piatti VC, Hwaun E, Ahmadi S, Lisman JE, Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK (2018) Dentate network activity is necessary for spatial working memory by supporting CA3 sharp-wave ripple generation and prospective firing of CA3 neurons. Nat Neurosci, 21:258-269.
  • Diehl GW, Hon OJ, Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK (2017) Grid and non-grid cells in medial entorhinal cortex represent spatial location and environmental features with complementary coding schemes. Neuron, 94: 83-92.
  • Lippi G, Fernandes CC, Ewell LA, John D, Romoli B, Curia G, Taylor SR, Frady EP, Jensen AB, Liu JC, Chaabane MM, Belal C, Nathanson JL, Zoli M, Leutgeb JK, Biagini G, Yeo GW, Berg DK (2016) Micro RNA-101 regulates multiple developmental programs to constrain excitation in adult neural networks. Neuron, 92:1337-1351.
  • Ewell LA, Liang L, Armstrong C, Soltesz I, Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK (2015) Brain state is a major factor in preseizure hippocampal network activity and influences success of seizure intervention. J Neuroscience, 35:15635-48.
  • Schlesiger MI, Cannova CC, Boublil B, Hales JB, Mankin EA, Brandon MP, Leutgeb JK, Leibold C, Leutgeb S (2015) The medial entorhinal cortex is necessary for the temporal organization of hippocampal neuronal activity. Nat Neuroscience 18:1123-32.
  • Mankin EA, Diehl GW, Sparks FT, Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK (2015) Hippocampal CA2 activity patterns change over time to a larger extent than between spatial contexts. Neuron, 85:190-201.
  • Sasaki T, Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK (2014) Spatial and memory circuits in the medial entorhinal cortex. Curr Opin Neurobiol, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2014.10.008.
  • Hales JB, Schlesiger MI, Leutgeb JK, Squire LR, Leutgeb S, Clark RE (2014) Medial entorhinal cortex lesions only partially disrupt hippocampal place cells and hippocampus-dependent place memory. Cell Rep, 9:893-901.
  • Brandon MP, Koenig J, Leutgeb JK, Leutgeb S (2014) New and distinct hippocampal place codes are generated in a new environment during septal inactivation. Neuron, 82:789-796.
  • Piatti VC, Ewell LA, Leutgeb JK (2013) Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus: carrying the message or dictating the tone. Front Neurosci 7:50. DOI:10.3389/fnins.2013.00050.
  • Schlesiger MI, Cressey JC, Boublil B, Koenig J, Melvin NR, Leutgeb JK, Leutgeb S (2013) Hippocampal activation during the recall of remote spatial memories in radial maze tasks. Neurobiol Learn Mem, 106:324-333.
  • Lu L*, Leutgeb JK*, Tsao A, Henriksen EJ, Leutgeb S, Barnes CA, Witter MP, Moser M-B, Moser EI (2013) Impaired hippocampal rate coding after lesions of the lateral entorhinal cortex. Nature Neurosci, 16:1085-1093. *Equal co-first authors
  • Mankin EA, Sparks FT, Slayyeh B, Sutherland RJ, Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK (2012) A neuronal code for extended time in the hippocampus. PNAS, 109:19462-19467.
  • Koenig J, Linder AN, Leutgeb JK, Leutgeb S (2011) The spatial periodicity of grid cells in not sustained during reduced theta oscillations. Science 332:592-595.
  • Leutgeb JK, Leutgeb S (2010) The dentate gyrus: a comprehensive guide to structure, function, and clinical implications. Hippocampus online ahead of press, DOI: 10.1002/hipo.20662.
  • Alme CB, Buzzetti RA, Marrone DF, Leutgeb JK, Chawla MK, Schaner MJ, Bohanick JD, Khoboko T, Leutgeb S, Moser EI, Moser MB, McNaughton BL, Barnes CA (2010) Hippocampal granule cells opt for early retirement. Hippocampus 20:1109-1123.
  • Colgin LL, Leutgeb S, Jezek K, Leutgeb JK, Moser EI, McNaughton BL, Moser MB (2010) Attractor-map versus autoassociation based attractor dynamics in the hippocampal network. J. Neurophysiol,. 104:35-50.
  • Leutgeb JK, Leutgeb S, Moser M-B, Moser EI (2007) Pattern separation in dentate gyrus and CA3 of the hippocampus. Science 315:961-966.
  • Leutgeb JK, Moser EI (2007) Enigmas of the dentate gyrus. Neuron 55:176-178.
  • Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK (2007) Pattern separation, pattern completion and new neuronal codes within a continuous CA3 map. Learn. Mem. 14:745-757.
  • Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK, Moser EI, Moser M-B (2006) Fast rate coding in hippocampal CA3 cell assemblies. Hippocampus 16:765-774.
  • Leutgeb JK, Leutgeb S, Treves A, Meyer R, Barnes CA, McNaughton BL, Moser
  • M-B, Moser EI (2005) Progressive transformation of hippocampal neuronal representations in "morphed" environments. Neuron 48:345-358.
  • Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK, Moser M-B, Moser EI (2005) Place cells, spatial maps and the population code for memory. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 15:738-746.
  • Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK, Barnes CA, Moser EI, McNaughton BL, Moser M-B (2005)
  • Independent codes for spatial and episodic memory in hippocampal neuronal ensembles. Science 309:619-623.
  • Leutgeb S, Leutgeb JK, Treves A, Moser M-B, Moser EI (2004) Distinct ensemble codes in hippocampal areas CA3 and CA1. Science 305:1295-1298.

Biography

Jill Leutgeb received her Ph.D. in Neurophysiology from the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Germany, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Norway, in the lab of Nobel laureates May-Britt and Edvard Moser. She received the prestigious Young Researcher Prize from the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters in recognition of her postdoctoral research. Dr. Leutgeb joined UC San Diego in 2008 and is now Associate Professor in the Neurobiology Section of the Division of Biological Sciences. She is also a member of the Center for Neural Circuits and Behavior, and the Traumatic Brain Injury Team of the Kavli Institute of Brain and Mind, UC San Diego. Dr. Leutgeb has received the Hellman Fellowship, the Ray Thomas Edwards Foundation Early Career Award, and the Walter F. Heiligenberg Professorship in Neuroethology.

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