BBRF grant for Aline Desmedt

Aline Desmedt has developed an animal model that reproduces in mice the two memory components of PTSD: traumatic hypermnesia—the intense, involuntary, and recurrent re-experiencing of traumatic memories, often presenting as flashbacks or intrusive thoughts; and contextual amnesia, i.e., remembering details or events but forgetting the surrounding circumstances. This distinguishes PTSD-like memory from normative fear memory. This project seeks to identify neural mechanisms underlying the switch to and from pathological (PTSD-like) to normative fear memories. In animal models, the team will investigate the fate and representation of the “memory engram” during the formation, prevention, and normalization of trauma representation. The aim is to determine the extent to which a memory trace is transformed when (re)contextualized traumatic memory is normalized, shedding light on neurobiological mechanisms that could inform development of new therapeutic and preventive strategies.