Contacts
Phone: +36 1 382 6807
Institute: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology
Group: Integrative Neuroscience Research Group
Office: D4.03B
Curriculum vitae
Personal information
Name: Lucia Wittner
Date and place of birth: 1975., Budapest, Hungary
Nationality: Hungarian
Contact: Research Center for Natural Sciences, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology
Magyar tudósok krt. 2. 1117 Budapest, Hungary
Telefon/Fax: 382-6807/382-6295
Education
Ph.D.: Neurosciences, 2004., Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary, Thesis title: Hippocampal interneurons in human temporal lobe epilepsy: differentiated changes of perisomatic and dendritic inhibition. Supervisors: T. F. Freund and Zs. Maglóczky, Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Master’s degree: Biology (specialized in cell-, developmental and neurobiology) and French translator specialized in biology, 1999., Biology teacher, 2000., Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
Secondary school: Kölcsey Ferenc Gimnázium, 1994. French-Hungarian two educational language class, Budapest, Hungary
Language exams
English, intermediate level, specialization in natural sciences, 1999.
French, advanced level, 1991, 1993; specialization in natural sciences, 1998.
D. A. L. F. (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française), 1993, 1997
German, intermediate level, 1994.
Research experience
2012-present Senior research fellow in the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Center for Natural Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
2010-2011 Senior research fellow in the Institute for Psychology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Department of Psychophysiology, Budapest, Hungary
2006-2010 Research fellow in the Institute for Psychology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Department of Psychophysiology, Budapest, Hungary
2004-2006 Postdoctoral position in the laboratory of R. Miles, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) U739, Université Paris VI., Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
2002-2004 Ph.D. student in Neurosciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary, Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Science
2001- 2002 Research associate in the laboratory of Gy. Buzsáki, in the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, USA
1999-2001 Ph.D. student in Neurosciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary, Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Science
1996-1999 Student research assistant, Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Science
Awards / Fellowships
2018 Fellowship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for researchers having children
2009-2010 Balaton Project Fellowship, French-Hungarian Government, F16/2008
2008-2011 Bolyai Fellowship of the Hungarian Government, Budapest, Hungary
2008 FENS 2008, Geneva, Switzerland, IBRO Travel grant
2007-2008 Balaton Project Fellowship, French-Hungarian Government, F38/2006
2006 FENS 2006, Vienna, Austria, FENS Travel grant
2005 NATO Short Term Research Fellowship, Budapest, Hungary 4024/NATO/03
2004-2006 INSERM Poste vert, Postdoctoral Fellowship of the French Government, Paris, France
2004 FENS 2004, Lisbon, Portugal, FENS Travel grant
2002 FENS 2002, Paris, France, FENS Travel grant
2002 FENS Winter School Kitzbühel, Austria, Semmelweis University Ph.D. School travel grant, Budapest, Hungary
2002 Best Bursary Award, 5th European Congress of Epileptology, Madrid, Spain
2000 FENS 2000, Brighton, United Kingdom, Pro renovanda cultura hungariae travel grant, Budapest, Hungary
1999-2000 Scholarship of the Hungarian Government (Köztársasági Ösztöndíj), Budapest, Hungary
1999 The Graduating Thesis won the prize of Sigma Aldrich Ltd. on the National Scientific Congress for Undergraduate Students (OTDK), Debrecen, Hungary
Participation in Research Grants
2016-2020 OTKA K119443, Hungarian Government, Hungary, Principal Investigator: Lucia Wittner
2016-2019 OTKA PD121123, Hungarian Government, Hungary, Principal Investigator: Kinga Tóth
2013-2017 NeuroSeeker EU FP7 Integrated Project, EU, Principal Investigator: Patrick Ruther
2012-2015 NKTH-ANR Multisca, French-Hungarian Governments, Hungary, Principal Investigator: Balázs Rózsa
2010-2013 NKTH-ANR Neurogen, French-Hungarian Governments, Hungary, Principal Investigator: László Acsády
2010-2013 OTKA K81357, Hungarian Government, Hungary, Principal Investigator: István Ulbert
2009-2013 OTKA PD77864 Hungarian Government, Hungary, Principal Investigator: Lucia Wittner
2006-2009 NeuroProbes EU FP6 Integrated Project, EU, Principal Investigator: Herc P. Neves
2006-2008 ETT135/2006, Ministry of Health, Hungary, Principal Investigator: István Ulbert
2005-2008 OTKA T049122, Hungarian Government, Hungary, Principal Investigator: István Ulbert
2005-2008 RET05/2004 Hungarian Government, Hungary, Principal Investigator: Tamás Freund
2005-2007 ANR INSERM U739, French Government, Principal Investigator: Richard Miles
2000-2003 OTKA T032251, Hungarian Government, Hungary, Principal Investigator: Tamás Freund
Neuroscience schools attended
September 2003: IBRO/FENS Summer school, Dubrovnik/Zagreb, Croatia, Development and Plasticity of the Human Cerebral Cortex
December 2002: FENS/Hertie Winter school, Kitzbühel, Austria, Dynamic aspects of brain functions: Methodologies, concepts, models
August 2002: IBRO Summer school, Prague, Czech Republic, Contemporary Approaches to the Study of CNS Functions
Conference organization
NeuroProbes EU FP6 project, 6th General Meeting, Budapest, Hungary, 2008.
Research topics
Synchronisation processes in the human cortex
Epilepsies are thought to be associated with neuronal hypersynchrony, resulting in the generation and maintenance of interictal activity and seizures. In vitro interictal-like activity has been shown to be spontaneously generated in epileptic human tissue. We aim to reveal cellular and network properties of spontaneous synchronous population activities emerging in surgically resected cortical tissue slices derived from epileptic patients and from tumour patients without epilepsy. We uncover the behaviour and role of different excitatory and inhibitory cell types in the generation and maintenance of population events using simultaneous intra- and multiple extracellular electrophysiological recordings, and two-photon imaging. Furthermore, we intend to reveal abnormalities in macro- and microcircuits in the human cortical tissue that might be causally related to seizure activity, using two photon imaging and correlated light- and electron microscopy. We expect our results to clarify the changes in excitatory and inhibitory neuronal networks in the epileptic human tissue, and their role in the generation and/or maintenance of synchronous population events, as well as to elucidate subtle differences between normal and pathological activities.
Information spread in the hippocampus of rodents
Hippocampus is part of the archicortex of mammals, and is thought to have an important role in processing spatial, as well as memory information. Synchronous events called sharp-wave ripple complexes are generated in the hippocampus and are thought to take part in memory consolidation. We investigate the cellular and network mechanisms of sharp-wave ripple complexes in vitro, with multiple channel linear microelectrode recordings. Our results reveal how the different excitatory and inhibitory cell types of the hippocampus participate in the generation and spread of synchronous events. Analysis of the synchrony propagation between the different regions of the hippocampus will help us to better understand the information processing related to hippocampal activity.