Lind Lab
The focus of this lab is the implications of astrocytes in ensuring a healthy brain and adequate blood flow.
In the Lind lab, we investigate the mechanism behind healthy brain tissue and blood flow recruitment at a cellular level, focusing on the interaction of astrocytes and neurons during active sensing. Our experiments aim to expand the current understanding of the processes that procure sufficient nutrition to the tissue in the context of attention and sensory processing.
The research in the Lind lab focuses on how emotional context and attention to a task alter the cortical processing of sensory input (https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.04.16.589720). I work in awake mice and investigate the somatosensory response in the whisker barrel cortex. This sensory system is optimal for this investigation because the whisker deflections can be used as a visual cue for when sensory input flows via the thalamus to the cortex. The voluntary whisker movements reveal when the barrel cortex receives input. The dynamics involved in cortical excitation in the awake and freely behaving animal depend on the shifting activation of complex neuronal circuits and neuromodulator release patterns. Astrocytes are a cell type whose activity is acutely dependent on brain state. Proof of astrocytic modification at synapses has been building up. Besides the contribution to synaptic transmission, astrocytes are also involved in the neurovascular coupling that ensures sufficient oxygen and glucose delivery to activated neurons. Thus, we use the context of active sensing to investigate the astrocytic role in the brain-state-dependent processing of sensory input. Studies of astrocyte activity have evolved to reveal heterogeneity in signals with regard to both spatial and temporal distribution. This reflects the manifold mechanisms involving this glial cell, from homeostatic processes to neuroimmune responses and interactions with both excitatory and inhibitory neurons. The morphology of a healthy astrocytes allows for the detection of all kinds of neuronal activity within its domain. Very fast and localized astrocyte Ca2+ activity has been shown to occur where astrocytes associate tightly with synapses. To elucidate the astrocytic activity during natural behavior, experiments are done in awake mice, distinguishing between differing causes of localized brain activation and blood flow modulation. Imaging studies are combined with image processing techniques to exploit the spatial strength of the 2-photon fluorescence imaging technique. The identification of healthy astrocytic activity patterns in awake, naturally behaving mice is the basis for studying astrocyte reactivity in diseases. Reactive astrocytes are involved in the progression of most neurodegenerative diseases and several other CNS afflictions. Our experiments allow for real-time in vivo investigations of astrocyte and vascular involvement in disease progression at the cellular level.
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De Ceglia R., Ledonne A, Litvin D, Lind B.L, Carriero G, Latagliata E.C., Bindocci E, Di Castro M.A., Savtchouk I.A., Vitali I, Ranjak A, Congiu M, Canonica T, Wisden W, Harris K, Mameli M, Mercuri N, Telley L and Andrea Volterra. Specialized astrocytes mediate glutamatergic gliotransmission in the central nervous system. Nature. 2023 . Sep. 10.1038/s41586-023-06502-w
Krogsgaard A., Sperling L., Li, F., Dahlqvist M., Thomsen K., Vydmantaite G., Li F., Thunemann M., Lauritzen M, Lind B.L. PV interneurons evoke astrocytic Ca2+ responses in awake mice, which contributes to neurovascular coupling. Glia. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/glia.24370
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Lind B. L., Jessen S. B., Lønstrup M. and Lauritzen M. Fast Ca2+ responses in astrocyte end-feet and neurovascular coupling in mice. Glia. 2018 Feb;66(2):348-358. doi: 10.1002/glia.23246. Epub 2017 Oct 23.
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Lind B. L., Brazhe A., Jessen S. B., Tan F. and Lauritzen M. Rapid stimulus-evoked astrocytic Ca2+ elevations and hemodynamic responses in mouse somatosensory cortex in vivo. PNAS, 2013 Nov 26; 110(48):E4678-87.
Two-photon in vivo imaging of awake mice using genetically encoded or directly introduced organic fluorescent indicators. Cortical imaging through chronic or acute cranial windows of cellular activity and blood vessels. Optogenetic stimulation of specified neuronal populations. Extracellular electrical recording of neuronal activity. Optical methods to study of blood flow changes such as intrinsic optical imaging and laser doppler imaging. Observations of natural behavior during imaging through pupillometry, running pattern and sensory activity.
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Lind B.L., Kucharz K., Cai C. “In vivo two-photon microscopy for studies of neurovascular coupling in rodents: a beginner's guide”. Neurophotonics, Vol. 12, Issue S2. S22808 November 2025. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.12.S2.S22808
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Yonza A.K.I., Tao L., Zhang X., Postnov D., Kucharz K., Lind B., Asiminas A., Han A., Sonego V., Kim K., Cai C. “Spatially and temporally mismatched blood flow and neuronal activity by high-intensity intracortical microstimulation.” Brain Stimulation.;18(3):885-896. May-Jun 2025. 10.1016/j.brs.2025.04.015
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De Ceglia R., Ledonne A, Litvin D, Lind B.L, Carriero G, Latagliata E.C., Bindocci E, Di Castro M.A., Savtchouk I.A., Vitali I, Ranjak A, Congiu M, Canonica T, Wisden W, Harris K, Mameli M, Mercuri N, Telley L and Andrea Volterra. “Specialized astrocytes mediate glutamatergic gliotransmission in the central nervous system.” Nature. Sep. 10. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06502-w
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Krogsgaard A., Sperling L., Li, F., Dahlqvist M., Thomsen K., Vydmantaite G., Li F., Thunemann M., Lauritzen M, Lind B.L. “PV interneurons evoke astrocytic Ca2+ responses in awake mice, which contributes to neurovascular coupling.” Glia. Vol 71, Issue 8, pages 1830-1846, August 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/glia.24370
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Cai C., Zambach S.A., Grubb S., Tao L., He C., Thomsen K.J., Lind B.L., Hald, B.O., Lønstrup M., Nielsen R.M., Lauritzen M.J. “Impaired dynamics of brain precapillary sphincters and pericytes at first order capillaries explains reduced neurovascular functions in aging.” Nature Aging volume 3, pages173–184 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-022-00354-1
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Fordsmann J.C., Murmu R.P., Cai C., Brazhe A., Thomsen K.J., Zambach S.A., Lønstrup M., Lind B. L., and Lauritzen M. Spontaneous astrocytic Ca2+ activity abounds in electrically suppressed ischemic penumbra of aged mice. Glia. Jan;67(1):37-52. 2019; doi: 10.1002/glia.23506.
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Christensen R.K., Delgado-Lezama R., Russo R.E., Lind B.L., Alcocer E.L., Rath M.F., Fabbiani G., Schmitt N., Lauritzen M., Petersen A.V., Carlsen E.M., Perrier J.F. Spinal dorsal horn astrocytes release GABA in response to synaptic activation. J Physiol. 2018 Oct;596(20):4983-4994. doi: 10.1113/JP276562
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Lind B. L., Jessen S. B., Lønstrup M. and Lauritzen M. Fast Ca2+ responses in astrocyte end-feet and neurovascular coupling in mice. Glia. 2018 Feb;66(2):348-358. doi: 10.1002/glia.23246. Epub 2017 Oct 23.
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Howarth C., Sutherland B.A., Choi H.B., Martin C., Lind B.L., Khennouf L., LeDue J.M., Pakan J.M.P., Ko R.W., Ellis-Davies G.C.R., Lauritzen M.J., Sibson N.R., Buchan A.M., MacVicar B.A. A critical role for astrocytes in hypercapnic vasodilation in brain. Journal of neuroscience. 2017 Mar 1:37(9):2403-2414. Doi.10.1532/JNEUROSCI.0005-16.2016.
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Jessen S.B., Mathiesen C., Lind B.L. and Lauritzen M. Interneuron deficit associates attenuated network synchronization to mismatch of energy supply and demand in aging mouse brains. Cerebral Cortex. 2017 Jan 1;27(1): 646-659. Doi:10.1093/cercor/bhv261.
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Khennouf L., Gesslein B., Lind B.L., van den Maagdenberg A.M.J.M. and Lauritzen M. Activity-dependent calcium, oxygen, and vascular responses in a mouse model of familial hemiplegic migraine type 1. Ann Neurol. 2016 Aug;80(2):219-32. Doi:10.1002/ana.24707.
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Jessen S.B., Brazhe A., Lind B.L., Mathiesen C., Thomsen K., Jensen K. and Lauritzen M. GABAA receptor-mediated bidirectional control of synaptic activity, intracellular Ca2+, cerebral blood flow and oxygen consumption in mouse somatosensory cortex in vivo. Cereb Cortex. Sep; 25(9):2594-609. 2015
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Brazhe A., Mathiesen C., Lind B., Rubin A., Lauritzen M. Multiscale transforms and compressive sensing for 2-photon imaging data. Neurophotonics. Jul;1(1):011012. 2014
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Lind B. L., Brazhe A., Jessen S. B., Tan F. and Lauritzen M. Rapid stimulus-evoked astrocytic Ca2+ elevations and hemodynamic responses in mouse somatosensory cortex in vivo. PNAS, Nov 26; 110(48):E4678-87. 2013
Non-reviewed publications:
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Lind B.L. and Volterra A. Fast 3D imaging in the auditory cortex of awake mice reveals that astrocytes control neurovascular coupling responses locally at arteriole-capillary junctions. BioRxiv. June 2024
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.06.28.601145v2
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Stelzner, J.A., Krogsgaard A., Kulkoviene G., Sperling L., Lind B.L. Localised Astrocyte Ca2+ Activity Regulates Neurovascular Coupling Responses to Active Sensing. BioRxiv. Apri 2024 l; https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.04.16.589720.
Lab members
| Name | Title | Job responsibilities | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search in Name | Search in Title | Search in Job responsibilities | |
| Barbara Lykke Lind | Associate Professor | Lind Lab |
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| Dmitrijs Celinskis | Postdoc |
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| Fangyuan Li | PhD Student | Lind Lab, Lauritzen Lab |
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| Jakob Akbar Stelzner | Master-Student | Lind Lab |
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| Lasse Mathias Holmsted Jørgensen | Master-Student | Lind Lab, Meehan Lab |
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| Pedro H. Coelho-Cordeiro | PhD Fellow | Lind Lab |
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