Michelle CD Bridi, PhD

Research Interests

Research Interests

The overarching goal of my laboratory is to study how cortical synaptic function is regulated, and how it is altered under atypical conditions.  Using primary visual cortex as a model, I aim to explore the following questions:

1. How does sleep regulate synaptic function?  Sleep regulates cortical excitatory and inhibitory synapses.  Why is sleep is necessary for these processes?
2. How is synaptic regulation altered in neurological conditions?  Synapses are dynamically regulated across sleep/wake states, and synaptic regulation is altered in mouse lines modeling Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  Is a common theme across different forms of ASD, other neurodevelopmental conditions, and/or following insults (e.g. stroke)?
3. How do synapses respond to changing inputs to maintain firing rate homeostasis?  Neurons adjust their synaptic strength to maintain their firing rates within an optimal range.  This can be achieved by multiple mechanisms.  What conditions in vivo engage each of these different mechanisms?

Recent Publications

[2020]

Bridi MCD*, Zong FJ*, Min X, Luo N, Tran T, Qiu J, Severin D, Zhang XT, Wang G, Zhu ZJ, He KW, Kirkwood A. 2020. Daily Oscillation of the Excitation-Inhibition Balance in Visual Cortical Circuits. Neuron. 105(4):621-629.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.11.011.

[2019]

Tran T*, Bridi MCD*, Koh MT, Gallagher M, Kirkwood A.  2019.  Reduced cognitive performance in aged rats correlates with increased excitation/inhibition ratio in the dentate gyrus in response to lateral entorhinal input.  Neurobiol Aging 82: 120-127. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2019.07.010

[2018]

Renouard L, Bridi MCD, Coleman T, Arckens L, Frank MG.  2018. Anatomical correlates of REM sleep-dependent plasticity in the developing cortex.  Sleep.  41(10): 1-11. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsy124

Bridi MCD*, de Pasquale R*, Lantz C*, Gu Y, Borrell A, Choi SY, He K, Tran T, Hong SZ, Dykman A, Lee HK, Quinlan EM, Kirkwood A.  2018.  Two distinct mechanisms for experience-dependent homeostasis.  Nat Neurosci 21: 843-850. doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0150-0.

[2015]

Bridi MCD, Aton SJ, Seibt J, Renouard L, Coleman T, Frank MG.  2015.  Rapid eye movement sleep promotes cortical plasticity in the developing brain.  Sci Adv 1: e1500105. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1500105.

Dumoulin MC, Aton SJ, Watson AJ, Renouard L, Coleman T, Frank MG.  2015.  Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activity during sleep consolidates cortical plasticity in vivo. Cereb Cortex 25(2):507-515 [Epub 2013 Sep 17].  doi: 10.1093/cercor/bht250.
 

* equally contributing authors