Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · NeuroscienceThe Memory Nexus Lab
Denise Jade Cai · New York, New York
Research Focus
Dr. Denise Jade Cai's lab at the Icahn School of Medicine focuses on understanding how our memories are linked together, especially how strong negative experiences can change the way we recall past neutral events. They study the brain circuits involved in memory using advanced techniques like imaging and optogenetics in mice. The research aims to shed light on how these memory processes might influence behavior, particularly in the context of anxiety and trauma.
memory linkinghippocampusaversive memorypresentation of neutral eventsoptogenetics
Research Aims
4AIM 01Investigate how aversive memories reactivate past neutral memories during sleep.
AIM 02Test the impact of aversive experiences on hippocampal activity and memory linking.
AIM 03Assess the necessity of retroactive memory integration in successful memory processing.
AIM 04Explore the role of sharp-wave ripples in stabilizing and integrating memories.
Skills the Lab Values
in vivo calcium imagingelectrophysiologyoptogeneticsmouse modelsensemble tagging
Output against the department
Publications95bottom 31% of dept.458th of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations4.8kbottom 35% of dept.434th of 671
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.