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SUMMARY:Hallucinating Mice\, Neural Circuits and Immunity - Towards Mechan
 istic Treatments for Psychosis - Katharina Schmack\, Group Leader at Franc
 is Crick Institute
DTSTART:20260302T173000Z
DTEND:20260302T190000Z
UID:TALK244168@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Lawrence Ng
DESCRIPTION:Psychosis is a core feature of severe mental illness\, yet its
  biological basis remains poorly understood. This talk presents a cross-sp
 ecies research programme combining behavioural paradigms\, computational m
 odelling\, circuit neuroscience and immunology to identify mechanistic tre
 atment targets. We developed a paradigm to measure hallucination-like perc
 eption in both humans and mice\, revealing key roles for dopamine and acet
 ylcholine. We also established a novel mouse model of autoimmune psychosis
 \, showing how brain-reactive antibodies can disrupt circuits and behaviou
 r and how antipsychotic drugs modulate autoimmune processes. Ongoing work 
 in humans and mice investigates how neural and immune mechanisms interact 
 to drive psychosis and shape perception.\n\nBio: Katharina Schmack receive
 d her medical and doctoral degrees from Charité\, Berlin in 2009. She the
 n completed her postdoctoral training\, clinical scientist fellowship and 
 psychiatry specialization at Charité\, Berlin. In 2018\, she was awarded 
 a research fellowship from the German National Academy of Sciences\, Leopo
 ldina\, and joined Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory\, New York\, as a researc
 h investigator. In September 2021\, she opened her own lab at the Francis 
 Crick Institute\, London. As a Group Leader\, her appointment is shared wi
 th the Division of Psychiatry of University College London and the North L
 ondon NHS Foundation Trust.\nHer research focuses on psychosis. Her group 
 investigates the neural circuits and immune processes giving rise to hallu
 cinations and other psychotic symptoms. Using a cross-species approach\, t
 hey study both patients and mice with behavioural tests\, computational mo
 dels\, and in-vivo measures and manipulations.
LOCATION:Department of Chemistry (Pfizer lecture theatre)
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