Margarita Hessel
Institute of Physiology I

Robert-Koch-Str. 27a
48149 Münster
Deutschland

T: +49 (0)251/83 55561
F: +49 (0)251/83 55551
mahessel@uni-muenster.de

Joined OCC in 2017

Research Project

Fear and anxiety disorders have a high prevalence in human population and one of the approaches to study them is to apply fear conditioning paradigm in mice. In rodents fear and anxiety-like behaviour is characterised by phasic (short-lasting) and sustained (long-lasting) fear. Anxiety-like behaviour in rodents has been recently shown to be influenced by 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). However, the specific role of the distinct types of 5-HT receptors in phasic and sustained fear is unknown. Particularly, it is assumed that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) − part of the so-called “extended amygdala” − plays an important role in states of sustained fear. Based on 5-HT receptor subtype, serotonin excites or inhibits neural transmission in the BNST. The objective of this project is to elucidate the role of 5-HT receptors in modulation of phasic and sustained fear in the anterodorsal BNST of freely behaving mice.

PhD Committee

Dr. Thomas Seidenbecher
Prof. Dr. Norbert Sachser
Prof. Dr. Hans-Christian Pape

Publications

Kovermann P, Hessel M, Kortzak D, Jen JC, Koch J, Fahlke C, Freilinger T (2017) Impaired K+ binding to glial glutamate transporter EAAT1 in migraine. Sci Rep. 7(1):13913. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-14176-4.

Zakharova M. A., Polyakova I. V., Groshikova A. R., Pisarev O. A., Panarin E. F. (2011)
Molecular recognition of glucose by artificial receptors of imprinted polymeric network. St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University J. 3: 127–133.

Conference Contributions

Hessel M., Kortzak D., Fahlke Ch., Kovermann P. (2015). Functional characterisation of a glial glutamate transporter carrying a mutation associated with familial hemiplegic migraine
Poster presentation at the 4th Symposium of the Young Physiologists, Leipzig, Germany, 24 Sep 2015 – 25 Sep 2015.

CV