California Institute of Technology · BiochemistryThe Memory Circuit Lab
Athanassios Siapas · Pasadena, California
Research Focus
Dr. Athanassios Siapas leads a research lab focused on understanding how the hippocampus and dopamine influence memory formation. By investigating the interactions between different brain regions during learning, the lab aims to uncover how these processes can be disrupted in memory disorders like Alzheimer's disease. The research combines advanced imaging techniques with pharmacological and optogenetic tools to study memory at the circuit level.
dopaminememory formationhippocampuscortical circuitsassociative learningoptogeneticstwo-photon imagingmemory disordersneuroplasticityauditory cortex
Research Aims
5AIM 01Characterize the dynamics of dopamine signaling during memory formation.
AIM 02Investigate the role of hippocampal inputs in auditory memory consolidation.
AIM 03Explore the plasticity of cortical circuits in response to dopaminergic modulation.
AIM 04Assess the impact of pharmacological perturbations on memory processing.
AIM 05Determine the circuit mechanisms underlying hippocampal and cortical interactions.
Skills the Lab Values
two-photon imagingoptogeneticsin vivo drug administrationwhole-cell recordingsanimal behavior assaysdata analysis using Pythonsynaptic plasticity measurementelectrophysiologyimmunohistochemistrycalcium imaging
Output against the department
Publications29bottom 1% of dept.396th of 402
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations4.6kbottom 27% of dept.294th of 402
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.