Investigating the relationship between hippocampal inhibitory neurons properties and cognitive deficits in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy
Célanie MATRINGHEN
Team “Cortical circuits”

Abstract
Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), one of the most common form of focal epilepsy, is a severe, prevalent neurological disease. It is not only associated with unpredictable seizures, with a high rate of pharmaco-resistance, but also with severe mood and cognitive disorders, including memory deficits, which are considered by patients as at least as disabling as seizures. In both patients and rodent models of pathology, the hippocampus is of particular interest. Not only is it often the epileptic focus, but it also undergoes extensive neuronal loss and network remodeling. The dysfunction of a large population of hippocampal interneurons, composed of various subtypes, is proposed as a key mechanism and a therapeutical target. However, the nature and extent of alterations in hippocampal inhibitory neurons remain unclear, as does their impact on TLE pathology. To address this issue, my PhD project combines immunolabeling, calcium imaging, electrophysiology, chemogenetic tools, and behavioral assays in mouse pilocarpine TLE models. The aim of my project is to investigate the survival and changes in the activity of a large population of inhibitory neurons and test the effect of their manipulation on seizures and cognitive impairments.

Jury
Christophe PORCHER, Chair of the jury – INMED, Inserm UMR 1249, Marseille
Thomas MARISSAL, Thesis supervisor – INMED, Inserm UMR 1249, Marseille
Joana LOURENCO, Rapporteur – Institut du Cerveau (ICM), Paris
Gabrielle GIRARDEAU, Rapporteur – Centre de Neurosciences de Sorbonne Université (NeuroSU), Paris
Sophie DUPONT, Examiner – Service de Neurologie de l’Hôpital Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris
Charles QUAIRIAUX, Examiner – Département de neurosciences fondamentales de l’UNIGE, Genève

Thursday, 11 December 2025 at 2 pm – INMED conference room