This online talk explores how inflammation can shape our mood and our road to recovery.
Acute inflammation initially produces sickness behavior and negative affect but may also trigger a subsequent compensatory “relief” state that promotes emotional recovery.
Using mouse models, proteomics, and whole-brain mapping, this event explores the neural and immune mechanisms underlying this transition.
It also discusses how disruptions in these adaptive processes may contribute to inflammation-associated depression and Major Depressive Disorder.
The event is a joint activity between Circle U. and the NeurotechEU alliance.
Learning outcome
After attending this lecture, participants will be able to:
- Describe how the immune system and the brain interact to influence mood during and after acute inflammation.
- Explain how modern neuroscience methods can be used to study the biological mechanisms linking inflammation and emotional states.
- Discuss the implications of these findings for understanding inflammation-associated depression and future therapeutic approaches.
About the lecturer
Anna Mathia Klawonn is an Associate Professor at Aarhus University, Group Leader at the Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience (DANDRITE), in the Nordic EMBL Partnership.
In her research, she combines systems neuroscience, neuroimmunology, and molecular biology to uncover how immune-to-brain signaling shapes emotion, motivation, and affective resilience.
Using state-of-the-art circuit mapping, molecular profiling, and translational neuroscience approaches, her group investigates the neural and cellular mechanisms underlying depression, inflammation-related mood disorders, and Parkinson's disease, with the goal of identifying novel therapeutic targets for brain disorders.
