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Zahra M Dhanerawala

@zahramd.bsky.social
64 followers 165 following 3 posts

MD-PhD student, currently a third year med student. PhD from Han Lab @ WashU. Previously, Simmons College and Princeton Neuro.

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Zahra M Dhanerawala @zahramd.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
SO excited to have my first project from my PhD out in @currentbiology.bsky.social ! We show that VIP interneurons in the dorsal hippocampus selectivity control reward cells within the pyramidal cell population and gate learning ✨
cell.com
VIP+ interneuron control of the hippocampal cognitive map
Dhanerawala et al. show that hippocampal reward cells are functionally segregated from the place cell spatial map. Temporally precise VIP+ interneuron activity bidirectionally controls reward cell num...
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Zahra M Dhanerawala @zahramd.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
A bit delayed, but some of my first two-photon experiments were published as part of a larger project on a crucially overlooked neuromodulator in the hippocampus, dopamine ✨ tinyurl.com/3h99rk9j We found two distinct dopamine release domains in the hippocampus with distinct behavioral correlates!
jneurosci.org
Spatiotemporally Distinct Dopamine Domains in the Hippocampus
The neuromodulator dopamine plays a critical role in orchestrating behavior by signaling actions and rewards. Dopamine signaling in the hippocampus is necessary for the formation of long-term memories...
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Reposted by Zahra M Dhanerawala
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
For black-capped chickadees, looking out at a location activates the same place cells as actually being there, a study from Columbia University shows. By @martajhill.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/hippocampus/...
thetransmitter.org
Gazing from afar activates place cells in chickadees
The results help explain how the hippocampus can recall information about a place without an animal physically revisiting it.
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Reposted by Zahra M Dhanerawala
Science News @scinews.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Ten Simple Rules for Graduate Students journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
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Reposted by Zahra M Dhanerawala
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Two dueling sets of hypothalamic neurons—one that responds to isolation and one to reunion—help maintain a mouse's social homeostasis, a new study reveals. By @avaskham.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/social-behav...
thetransmitter.org
Soft touch quells loneliness in mice
Touch modulates one of two dueling types of hypothalamic neurons that, thermostat-like, balance an animal’s drive for social interaction.
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Reposted by Zahra M Dhanerawala
Jessica Froula @jessicafroula.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
My dissertation work with @kmlab.bsky.social is officially published in #Jneurosci ! www.jneurosci.org/content/44/4... TL;DR summary: The cerebellum can modulate several types of CA1 inhibitory interneurons, including object-responsive, run-active, & rest-active cells. Read on to learn more: 🧵
jneurosci.org
Distinct Functional Classes of CA1 Hippocampal Interneurons Are Modulated by Cerebellar Stimulation in a Coordinated Manner
There is mounting evidence that the cerebellum impacts hippocampal functioning, but the impact of the cerebellum on hippocampal interneurons remains obscure. Using miniscopes in freely behaving male a...
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Reposted by Zahra M Dhanerawala
Ida Momennejad @neuroai.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Honored that a piece I wrote made it to NYTimes. It’s about how my mom’s stroke changed my connection to time, science, and nature. What a privilege to honor my mom in Modern Love. Below is a gift link. Let me know your thoughts 🙏🏼 www.nytimes.com/2024/12/20/s...
nytimes.com
Grief Makes Us Time Travelers (Gift Article)
A neuroscientist studying memory, I used to believe time was linear. Then my mother had a stroke.
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Reposted by Zahra M Dhanerawala
Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Early days, but it looks like our authors don't think we need an impact factor either! Submissions are strong in numbers and high quality since the Clarivate/WoS announcement. We should not let a multibillion dollar company dictate how science is evaluated!
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Reposted by Zahra M Dhanerawala
Bilal Haider @haiderlab.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
A stunning finding from human cortex: SST inhibitory neurons lost first in Alzheimer's... even earlier than excitatory neurons. Thanks to NIH BRAIN (BICCN, BICAN), @alleninstitute.bsky.social and a huge team of investigators (50+ NIH awards), well done for 🧠 science! doi.org/10.1038/s415...
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