Dr John Apergis-Schoute

John Apergis-Schoute

Senior Lecturer in Psychology

School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences
Queen Mary University of London
www.qmul.ac.uk/sbbs/staff/john-apergis-schoute-.html
Centre for Brain and Behaviour
ORCID Google Scholar

Research

Cognition, Motivation, Neural Circuits, Functional Connectivity, Appetite, Memory

Interests

A good memory system is key to effective foraging. When searching for food animals are best served by remembering the location of different food sources (spatial memory), their nutritional content (appetitive memory) and the motor repertoire for securing and consuming a meal (motor memory) - all the while cautiously on the lookout for potential dangers that may have been previously experienced (fear memory). Foraging therefore is a key behaviour to gain insights into rodent cognition.

My research builds on the premise that cognition has evolved to meet the competitive demand for resources and that by investigating different memory systems one can shed light on the interplay between these systems for understanding decision-making. To do so we use advanced recording and manipulation tools in transgenic rodents to monitor and interrogate distinct neural circuits related to food seeking and memory. Our research takes a bottom-up approach where brain anatomy informs potential pathways for investigating function using advanced recording and neural manipulation techniques in behaving animals.