Gabriel Lepousez is a neuroscientist whose research focuses on brain plasticity and circuit mechanisms underlying sensory perception and memory.
He studied molecular biology at Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, received his doctorate in Neuroscience from the Pierre & Marie Curie University in Paris, and hold a research position at Institut Pasteur in the Perception and Memory Unit, directed by Pierre-Marie Lledo.
Using a multi-level and integrative approach, he is currently exploring how neural networks encode sensory information and how network dynamics are related to behavior, notably in the context of learning. The olfactory system, which is capital to behavior in rodents, provides a great model to tackle question regarding sensory coding and experience-induced plasticity. To decipher these questions, he combines in vivo electrophysiology and imaging, behavioral psychophysics and optogenetics to selectively challenge specific elements of the network and observe the consequences both at the neuronal and at the behavioral level.
His current research focuses on the role of top-down cortical circuits in dynamically optimising olfactory perception. He is also studying neuronal regeneration and adult neurogenesis in the olfactory system to understand the function of adult-born neurons in olfactory perception. Lastly, he has been recently interested in the impact of gut microbiota and immunity on brain activity and behavior.
