Using the common fruit fly to understand complex biological problems.
The Scaplen lab investigates how circuits within the brain are changed with experience to form memories. We form memories of our personal experiences every day. What’s striking is that some memories are long lasting and others are fleeting. At the circuit level, what makes these memories different?
Examples of memories that are especially strong are those associated with drugs use, like alcohol. These memories are thought to underlie the intense cravings that individuals experience during abstinence. The goal of our current research is to understand how memory circuits are modified in the context of alcohol to ultimately drive maladaptive drug seeking behaviors.
Research Projects
Research in the Scaplen lab uses a combination of neurogenetic tools to enable precise manipulation of individual neurons to investigate how circuits are established and altered in the context of reward.
Our Team
Research in the Scaplen Lab is powered by motivated, but most importantly curious, Bryant undergraduates. Students often join the lab their first year without prior research training, and gain extensive experience conducting neuroscience research using the fruit fly. Over the past several years students have had the opportunity to present their research at local, regional, and international conferences and several of these students have won presentation awards for their outstanding poster presentations. Others have won travel awards to attend the prestigious Society for Neuroscience conference. Interested in joining us? Meet our team and contact Dr. Scaplen to get started!
Open Resources and Neuroscience Outreach
The Scaplen Lab is dedicated to sharing resources for research in the scientific community, our passion for neuroscience and educating the community on brain health.
