How an Airport Strike in Copenhagen Led to the Discovery of Septohippocampal Disinhibition

Abstract

My most important contribution to research on the hippocampus was the discovery that certain phylogenetically ancient subcortical nuclei that carry information about motivation, emotions and autonomic state exert their profound effects on hippocampal functions by selectively innervating interneurons. Diverse effects on network activity patterns and plasticity can be achieved via activating or inhibiting these functionally distinct interneuron types. In the following, I will present the series of serendipitous events that prompted me to shift my research interest from the visual cortex and the basal ganglia to the hippocampus and its subcortical control.