Emelie Katarina Svahn Leão

Master degree in Pharmaceutical Bioscience from University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 2004. She obtained a PhD in Neuroscience at the National University of Australia, Canberra, Australia, 2008, studying plasticity in the auditory system of mice. Returning to Sweden for a postdoc at Uppsala University she took part in several projects using transgenic animals, using electrophysiology and immunohistochemistry. In 2012 she became associate professor at UFRN.

Our lab implements genetic tools for studying and modulating neuronal activity. We use opto- and chemogenetic strategies together with cre-lox mice strains and/or viral constructs to target and control unique cell populations of the auditory system. We use in vitro electrophysiology (whole-cell patch clamp) that give explicit information on ion currents related to altered neuronal activity. This data is complimentary to in vivo models of intact systems. Unit recordings using acute and chronic multichannel electrodes provide new insight to neuronal activity, both sensory driven and spontaneous. Using clustering algorithms to separate units into plausible cell types we can reach new levels of understanding of regulation of neuronal activity of unique cell populations, and how alterations to neuronal activity affect circuit output. We also record auditory event-related potentials to correlate sensory gating to regulation of neuronal activity. For tinnitus research we implement auditory brainstem responses to know hearing threshold of mice, noise-overexposure to induce tinnitus without hearing loss, and we use Gap prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle tests to evaluate tinnitus perception in mice.


Publications


  • Malfatti T, Ciralli B, Hilscher MM, Edwards SJ, Kullander K, Leao RN, Leao KE. Using cortical neuron markers to target cells in the dorsal cochlear nucleus. eNeuro. 2021:ENEURO.0413-20.2020. Doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0413-20.2020
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  • Winne J, Boerner BC, Malfatti T, Brisa E, Doerl J, Nogueira I, Leão KE, Leão RN. Anxiety-like behavior induced by salicylate depends on age and can be prevented by a single dose of 5-MeO-DMT. Exp Neurol. 2020;326:113175. Doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2020.113175.
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  • Hilscher MM, Nogueira I, Mikulovic S, Kullander K, Leão RN, Leão KE. Chrna2-OLM interneurons display different membrane properties and h-current magnitude depending on dorsoventral location. Hippocampus. 2019;29(12):1224-1237.
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  • Winne J, Franzon R, Miranda A, Malfatti T, Patriota J, Mikulovic S, Leão KE, Leão RN. Salicylate induces anxiety-like behaviour and slow theta oscillation and abolishes the relationship between running speed and fast theta oscillation frequency. Hippocampus. 2018. Doi: 10.1002/hipo.23021.
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  • Anders Enjin, Sharn Perry, Markus M Hilscher, Chetan Nagaraja, Martin Larhammar, Henrik Gezelius, Anders Eriksson, Katarina E Leão and Klas Kullander. Developmental disruption of recurrent inhibitory feedback results in compensatory adaptation in the Renshaw cell - motor neuron circuit. J. Neurosci ; 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0949-16.2017 .
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  • Hilscher MM, Leão RN, Edwards SJ, Leão KE, Kullander K (2017) Chrna2-Martinotti Cells Synchronize Layer 5 Type A Pyramidal Cells via Rebound Excitation. PLoS Biol 15(1): e2001392. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2001392
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  • Perry S, Gezelius H, Larhammar M, Hilscher MM, Lamotte D'incamps B, Leao KE, Kullander K. Firing properties of Renshaw cells defined by Chrna2 are modulated by hyperpolarizing and small conductance ion currents I h and I SK. Eur J Neurosci. 2015;41(7):889-900. Doi: 10.1111/ejn.12852.
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  • Hilscher MM, Leão KE, Leão RN. Synchronization through nonreciprocal connections in a hybrid hippocampus microcircuit. Front Neural Circuits. 2013.
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  • Leão RN, Mikulovic S, Leão KE, Munguba H, Gezelius H, Enjin A, et al. OLM interneurons differentially modulate CA3 and entorhinal inputs to hippocampal CA1 neurons. Nat Neurosci. 2012;15(11):1524-30.
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  • Leao KE, Mikulovic S, Le Merre P, Tourtellotte WG, Kullander K. Sensorimotor function is modulated by the serotonin receptor 1d, a novel marker for gamma motor neurons. Mol Cell Neurosci. 2012;49(3):322-332. Doi: 10.1016/j.mcn.2012.01.003.
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  • LEAO, KE ; Leão, Richardson N. ; Walmsley, Bruce. Modulation of dendritic synaptic processing in the lateral superior olive by hyperpolarization-activated currents. European Journal of Neuroscience (Print), v. 33, p. 1462-1470, 2011.
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  • Leão, Katarina E. ; Leão, Richardson N. ; Deardorff, Adam S. ; Garrett, Andrew ; Fyffe, Robert ; Walmsley, Bruce. Sound stimulation modulates high-threshold K+ currents in mouse auditory brainstem neurons. European Journal of Neuroscience (Print), v. 32, p. 1658-1667, 2010.
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  • Leão, Richardson N. ; Naves, Marcell M. ; Leão, Katarina E. ; Walmsley, Bruce. Altered sodium currents in auditory neurons of congenitally deaf mice. European Journal of Neuroscience (Print), v. 24, p. 1137-1146, 2006.
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  • Leao, K. E. ; Leao, R. N. ; Sun, H. ; Fyffe, R. E. W. ; Walmsley, B. . Hyperpolarization-activated currents are differentially expressed in mice brainstem auditory nuclei. Journal of Physiology (London. Print), v. 576, p. 849-864, 2006.
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  • Leao, R. N. ; Sun, H. ; Svahn, K. ; Berntson, A. ; Youssoufian, M. ; Paolini, A. G. ; Fyffe, R. E. W. ; Walmsley, B. . Topographic organization in the auditory brainstem of juvenile mice is disrupted in congenital deafness. Journal of Physiology (London. Print), v. 571, p. 563-578, 2006.
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  • Leao, Richardson N. ; Svahn, Katarina ; Berntson, Amy ; Walmsley, Bruce . Hyperpolarization-activated ( I h ) currents in auditory brainstem neurons of normal and congenitally deaf mice . European Journal of Neuroscience (Print), v. 22, p. 147-157, 2005.
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Theses

  • HILSCHER, M. M.Synchronization by Distal Dendrite-targeting Interneurons - phenomenon, concept and reality. Natal, 2016.
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