Mr Hinze Ho

Interests

Spatially-tuned neurons in the hippocampus and associated cortices encode locations and distance, and underlie an animal's ability to form a mental representation of space and remember the layout of an environment. I am interested in understanding how activation of neurons create spatial representation in physiological context, and how their functions are disrupted in pathological conditions, such as during Alzheimer's disease. To this end, I use in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging technique combined with virtual reality-based behavioural tasks, to investigate the neural activities underpinning spatial navigation and memory formation.

To make the process of behavioural testing more effective and efficient, I have also co-developed a novel automated home-cage behavioural testing system, called smartKage. The system overcomes several limitation in existing behavioural and cognitive tests, and allows behavioural testing to be more systematic and reproducible.

Research Focus

Equipment

Behavioural analysis

Calcium imaging

Electrophysiological recording techniques

Field potential recording

Immunohistochemistry

Whole cell patch clamp