Nora Wolcott, PhD
Research
Endocrine-Modulated Hippocampal Plasticity
The hippocampus is densely populated with estrogen receptors, and ex vivo work has demonstrated that apical CA1 pyramidal cell dendritic spine morphology is dynamically modulated by estrogen. What are the functional implications of hippocampal plasticity across the estrous cycle and pregnancy? In vivo longitudinal imaging of dendritic spines in densely-sampled mice, coupled with spatial representation analysis, reveals that both neuronal morphology and spatial navigation are modulated by sex steroid hormone fluctuations.
Automated Classification of Estrous Cycle Stage
Estrous cycle phase is identified by vaginal lavage and cytology, however manual classification tends to be error-prone. For neuroendocrine research, accurate and rapid identification of estrous phase is critical. EstrousNet is a novel deep learning pipeline for unbiased classification of estrous stage. To emulate human classification more closely, the EstrousNet alogirthm fits test images to an archetypal estrous cycle, avoiding common confusion errors. Final classifications surpass expert accuracy and speed. EstrousNet is available as a free MATLAB-based software here.