Didier De Saint Jan

Biography

 He is interested in describing synaptic circuits in the olfactory bulb, the first relay station for odor processing in the brain. In the mammalian olfactory system, sensory inputs converge in the olfactory bulb in spatially segregated anatomical structure called glomeruli. Olfactory neurons expressing the same olfactory receptor project in specific glomeruli where they transmit sensory information to ~25 mitral and tufted cells, the principal output neurons of the bulb. Each glomerulus is surrounded by local juxtaglomerular neurons that shape the output of mitral and tufted cells. Juxtaglomerular cells include different types of neurons like inhibitory periglomerular cells, excitatory external tufted cells and mixed dopaminergic-GABAergic short axon cells. His earlier work focused on intraglomerular excitatory interactions that amplify the complex and unique long-lasting synaptic response of mitral and tufted cells to an olfactory nerve input.

Research Interest

 Neurology