
Gabrielle Pouchelon
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Geneva – Switzerland, 2013
pouchel@cshl.edu | 516-367-5290
Perception and comprehension of the outside world are rooted in our neocortex. How do neurons specialize during development to form complex and very specific circuits to integrating sensory-motor information in adults? My group is interested in the interplay between environmental cues and molecular programs in the assembly of neural circuits.
During development, environmental factors can affect the penetrance of genetic susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disease. Indeed, sensory experience and molecular programs have been shown to synergistically regulate neuronal maturation.
Neurons in the neocortex receive activity through long range presynaptic inputs that communicate information from the environment. In particular, sensory inputs to cortical sensory areas regulate the excitatory/inhibitory balance during development. However, excitatory and inhibitory neurons appear to be differentially affected by external cues. What is the role of input-specific developmental activity and what are the downstream molecular effectors in distinct cell-types? In addition, as development progresses, not only sensory activity, but other early postnatal environmental cues or stress are conveyed to the neocortex. Do these modulators shape neural circuits and how?
My group aims to study the interplay between sensory and neuromodulatory inputs and genetic programs of circuit maturation, using a combination of approaches from physiology to mouse genetics and genomics. More specifically, we are interested in parsing out the origin of the various dysfunctions in neurodevelopmental disorders. More, specifically, we focus on the differential vulnerability and contribution of distinct neuron-types and their inputs in autism disorder models.
At the Lab Season 1 Research Rewind: Neuroscience
October 15, 2024
What do you think? How do you know? And who are you anyway? We probe each of these questions with the help of Cold Spring Harbor’s neuroscientists.
At the Lab Episode 21: Nature versus nurture
August 27, 2024
What makes you, you? CSHL Assistant Professor Gabrielle Pouchelon looks for answers in the brain’s earliest neural connections.
Finding the sweet spot in brain development
July 1, 2024
Short-lived neural connections in the mouse brain can have long-lasting effects on how the animal senses and interacts with the world.
Hazen Tower
April 25, 2024
The Italian-style bell tower anchors CSHL’s Neuroscience Center. Its bell has rung out every hour on the hour, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., since 1991.
Neuroscientist Gabrielle Pouchelon joins CSHL faculty
March 25, 2022
She studies the genetic and environmental factors that steer brain development.
All Publications
Restoring transient connectivity during development improves dysfunctions in fragile X mice
9 Sep 2024 | bioRxiv
Dumontier, Dimitri; Liebman, Samuel; Le, Viet-Hang; George, Shanu; Valdemar, Deasia; Van Aelst, Linda; Pouchelon, Gabrielle;  
Metabotropic signaling within somatostatin interneurons controls transient thalamocortical inputs during development
26 Jun 2024 | Nature Communications | 15(1):5421
Dwivedi, Deepanjali; Dumontier, Dimitri; Sherer, Mia; Lin, Sherry; Mirow, Andrea; Qiu, Yanjie; Xu, Qing; Liebman, Samuel; Joseph, Djeckby; Datta, Sandeep; Fishell, Gord; Pouchelon, Gabrielle;  
Metabotropic signaling within somatostatin interneurons controls transient thalamocortical inputs during development.
3 Apr 2024 | bioRxiv
Dwivedi, Deepanjali; Dumontier, Dimitri; Sherer, Mia; Lin, Sherry; Mirow, Andrea; Qiu, Yanjie; Xu, Qing; Liebman, Samuel; Joseph, Djeckby; Datta, Sandeep; Fishell, Gord; Pouchelon, Gabrielle;  
Metabotropic Signaling within Somatostatin Interneurons Regulates Thalamocortical Inputs During Development
2023 | Elsevier BV
Dwivedi, Deepanjali; Dumontier, Dimitri; Sherer, Mia; Lin, Sherry; Mirow, Andrea; Qiu, Yanjie; Xu, Qing; Liebman, Sam; Joseph, Djeckby; Datta, Sandeep; Fishell, Gord; Pouchelon, Gabrielle;  
A versatile viral toolkit for functional discovery in the nervous system.
20 Jun 2022 | Cell Reports Methods | 2(6):100225
Pouchelon, Gabrielle; Vergara, Josselyn; McMahon, Justin; Gorissen, Bram; Lin, Jessica; Vormstein-Schneider, Douglas; Niehaus, Jason; Burbridge, Timothy; Wester, Jason; Sherer, Mia; Fernandez-Otero, Marian; Allaway, Kathryn; Pelkey, Kenneth; Chittajallu, Ramesh; McBain, Chris; Fan, Melina; Nasse, Jason; Wildenberg, Gregg; Fishell, Gordon; Dimidschstein, Jordane;  
The organization and development of cortical interneuron presynaptic circuits are area specific.
9 Nov 2021 | Cell Reports | 37(6):109993
Pouchelon, Gabrielle; Dwivedi, Deepanjali; Bollmann, Yannick; Agba, Chimuanya; Xu, Qing; Mirow, Andrea; Kim, Sehyun; Qiu, Yanjie; Sevier, Elaine; Ritola, Kimberly; Cossart, Rosa; Fishell, Gord;  
Bottom-up inputs are required for establishment of top-down connectivity onto cortical layer 1 neurogliaform cells
3 Nov 2021 | Neuron | 109(21):3473-3485.e5
Ibrahim, Leena; Huang, Shuhan; Fernandez-Otero, Marian; Sherer, Mia; Qiu, Yanjie; Vemuri, Spurti; Xu, Qing; Machold, Robert; Pouchelon, Gabrielle; Rudy, Bernardo; Fishell, Gord;  
A transient postnatal quiescent period precedes emergence of mature cortical dynamics.
23 Jul 2021 | eLife | 10
Domínguez, Soledad; Ma, Liang; Yu, Han; Pouchelon, Gabrielle; Mayer, Christian; Spyropoulos, George; Cea, Claudia; Buzsáki, György; Fishell, Gordon; Khodagholy, Dion; Gelinas, Jennifer;  
Input-dependent regulation of excitability controls dendritic maturation in somatosensory thalamocortical neurons
8 Dec 2017 | Nature Communications | 8(1):2015
Frangeul, Laura; Kehayas, Vassilis; Sanchez-Mut, Jose; Fièvre, Sabine; Krishna-K, K; Pouchelon, Gabrielle; Telley, Ludovic; Bellone, Camilla; Holtmaat, Anthony; Gräff, Johannes; Macklis, Jeffrey; Jabaudon, Denis;  
A cross-modal genetic framework for the development and plasticity of sensory pathways
6 Oct 2016 | Nature | 538(7623):96-98
Frangeul, Laura; Pouchelon, Gabrielle; Telley, Ludovic; Lefort, Sandrine; Luscher, Christian; Jabaudon, Denis;