University of California-Irvine · BiologyIgarashi Memory Lab
Kei M Igarashi · Irvine, California
Research Focus
Dr. Kei M. Igarashi's lab at UC Irvine specializes in understanding the brain circuits involved in memory formation and retrieval, particularly in the context of Alzheimer's disease. The lab conducts research on the lateral entorhinal cortex, which plays a crucial role in these cognitive functions. By using advanced techniques such as optogenetics and transgenic mouse models, the lab aims to identify the specific neuronal types impacted by Alzheimer's to develop potential treatments for memory impairments.
Alzheimer's Diseasememory formationentorhinal cortextauopathyneural circuitsassociative learningoptogeneticsdopamineneuronal activity
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate activity dysfunction in specific cell types of the lateral entorhinal cortex in Alzheimer's disease models.
AIM 02Examine how LEC dopamine dysfunction contributes to associative memory impairments.
AIM 03Identify oscillation deficits in neuronal activity affecting memory encoding in the lateral entorhinal cortex.
Skills the Lab Values
optogeneticsin vivo electrophysiologyassociative learning taskstransgenic mouse modelsoscillation analysiscircuit analysisdata interpretationcell type characterizationreward-associated learning
Output against the department
Publications67bottom 18% of dept.849th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.8kbottom 21% of dept.818th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.