About the group
The group is led by two principal investigators, Professor Ragnhild Paulsen, and Professor Cecilie Morland. We study mechanism for drug toxicity and diseases in the brain, and we aim to identify protective mechanisms. During development and ageing, as well as in diseases, brain plasticity is increased. Under these conditions, the brain is very sensitive to the effects of drugs or non-pharmacological treatments (e.g. exercise and nutrition). We use a combination of in vivo and in vitro techniques to study the effects of drugs and other substances on the developing and the ageing brain, and the neuroprotective effects of exercise. We employ animal models (rodents and chicken embryo) to mimic human disease and/or use of medications. We investigate behavioral effects of diseases, drugs, pollutants, and exercise, combined with histological examinations at the light, confocal or electron microscopic level. We also use primary cell cultures and established cell lines as experimental models for mechanistic studies.
Research areas
Lactate-sensing fibroblasts in stroke
CNS development in the fetus and newborn
Effects of exercise in the brain –the search for new drug targets