Staff profile

Overview

My groups investigates the neuronal mechanisms that underlie cognition and emotion, with a focus on activity in the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. A central theme of our work is how these circuits are shaped by neuromodulators such as serotonin, and how psychedelics act on these systems.

Alongside our Neuroscience research, we also study the effects of classic and non-classic psychedelics on mental health and psychological processes. This includes quantitative and qualitative observational approaches.

Please see my group webpage for further information and opportunities for joining the lab.

I am the Director of the Learning and Memory Processes (LAMP) Centre and of the MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience.

I am also a member of the Biophysical Sciences Institute and of the Centre for Research into Inner Experience.

 

Opportunities for joining the lab

I am always keen to hear from prospective postgraduate researchers interested in working with me. Opportunities are available at the MRes and PhD level (see the departmental postgraduate research page for details). If you would like to know more about PhD funding opportunities, please get in touch.

For postdoctoral or Research Assistant positions, see the opportunities page on my group website or feel free to contact me directly.

Key scientific contributions to date

My main scientific contributions and discoveries to date:

• We have uncovered key principles of neuromodulation in mouse and human brain circuits, focusing on serotonin's role in the amygdala and mGluRII receptor mechanisms in the human neocortex.
• We have revealed new functions of interneurons, including identifying a novel interneuron type in the amygdala, and demonstrating how interneurons relay external information and control synchrony.
• We have shown that the birthdate of neurons is crucial for their structural and functional integration in adult brain circuits.
• We have highlighted how specific brain pathways shape circuit development, information processing, and synaptic plasticity.

Bio

I graduated in Biotechnology (BSc) in 2008 and Neurobiology (MSc) in 2011 at the University of Pavia, in Italy. Before starting my PhD, I worked as Research Assistant in Michael Hausser's Neural Computation lab at UCL (2010-2012). I then carried out my PhD at the University of Oxford with Marco Capogna, studying serotonin and the neural circuits of the amygdala, and their involvement in aversive learning. After the completion of my PhD (2016), I stayed at the University of Oxford for a brief postdoc with Peter Somogyi, studying the neuromodulation of mouse and human neural circuits. In 2017, I started a postdoc in Rosa Cossart's lab at INSERM in Marseille, France. I studied how developmental programs and inhibitory circuits control hippocampal physiology and learning-relevant neural mechanisms. In 2021, I moved back to the UK to carry out a postdoc with Andy Jackson and Abhishek Banerjee at Newcastle University to use closed-loop optical and electrophysiological tools to correct pathological network dynamics. I took up a position of Assistant Professor at Durham University in 2022.

Esteem indicators

Funding and awards

• Springboard Award, Academy of Medical Sciences (2024), £125,000
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (2017)
• Fédération de la Recherche Médicale Postdoctoral Fellowship (2017)
• Fyssen Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (2016)
• Paton Prize, University of Oxford (2014)
• Gotch Memorial Prize, University of Oxford (2013)

Reviewer and editorial roles

• Reviewer for the following peer-reviewed journals: Neuroscience, Journal of Physiology, Neuron, Neuroscience Bulletin, Journal of Neurophysiology, European Journal of Neuroscience, Molecular Psychiatry
• Reviewing Editor for: Frontiers in Neural Circuits
• Reviewer for the following funding bodies: BBSRC

Research groups

Cognitive Neuroscience

Learning, memory & cognition

• Neural mechanisms of learning and memory
• Neural circuit organisation
• Neural plasticity
• Neuromodulators (in particular serotonin)
• Psychedelics
• Mental health

Journal Article

• Functional networks of inhibitory neurons orchestrate synchrony in the hippocampus
  
  Bocchio, M., Vorobyev, A., Sadeh, S., Brustlein, S., Dard, R., Reichinnek, S., Emiliani, V., Baude, A., Clopath, C., & Cossart, R. (2024). Functional networks of inhibitory neurons orchestrate synchrony in the hippocampus. PLOS Biology, 22(10), Article e3002837. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002837
• Extrinsic control of the early postnatal CA1 hippocampal circuits
  
  Leprince, E., Dard, R. F., Mortet, S., Filippi, C., Giorgi-Kurz, M., Bourboulou, R., Lenck-Santini, P., Picardo, M. A., Bocchio, M., Baude, A., & Cossart, R. (2023). Extrinsic control of the early postnatal CA1 hippocampal circuits. Neuron, 111(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2022.12.013
• CA1 pyramidal cell diversity is rooted in the time of neurogenesis
  
  Cavalieri, D., Angelova, A., Islah, A., Lopez, C., Bocchio, M., Bollmann, Y., Baude, A., & Cossart, R. (2021). CA1 pyramidal cell diversity is rooted in the time of neurogenesis. ELife, 10. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.69270
• Hippocampal hub neurons maintain distinct connectivity throughout their lifetime
  
  Bocchio, M., Gouny, C., Angulo-Garcia, D., Toulat, T., Tressard, T., Quiroli, E., Baude, A., & Cossart, R. (2020). Hippocampal hub neurons maintain distinct connectivity throughout their lifetime. Nature Communications, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18432-6
• Group II Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors Mediate Presynaptic Inhibition of Excitatory Transmission in Pyramidal Neurons of the Human Cerebral Cortex
  
  Bocchio, M., Lukacs, I. P., Stacey, R., Plaha, P., Apostolopoulos, V., Livermore, L., Sen, A., Ansorge, O., Gillies, M. J., Somogyi, P., & Capogna, M. (2019). Group II Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors Mediate Presynaptic Inhibition of Excitatory Transmission in Pyramidal Neurons of the Human Cerebral Cortex. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2018.00508
• Synaptic Plasticity, Engrams, and Network Oscillations in Amygdala Circuits for Storage and Retrieval of Emotional Memories
  
  Bocchio, M., Nabavi, S., & Capogna, M. (2017). Synaptic Plasticity, Engrams, and Network Oscillations in Amygdala Circuits for Storage and Retrieval of Emotional Memories. Neuron, 94(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2017.03.022
• Control of Amygdala Circuits by 5-HT Neurons via 5-HT and Glutamate Cotransmission
  
  Sengupta, A., Bocchio, M., Bannerman, D. M., Sharp, T., & Capogna, M. (2017). Control of Amygdala Circuits by 5-HT Neurons via 5-HT and Glutamate Cotransmission. Journal of Neuroscience, 37(7). https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.2238-16.2016
• Sleep and Serotonin Modulate Paracapsular Nitric Oxide Synthase Expressing Neurons of the Amygdala
  
  Bocchio, M., Fisher, S. P., Unal, G., Ellender, T. J., Vyazovskiy, V. V., & Capogna, M. (2016). Sleep and Serotonin Modulate Paracapsular Nitric Oxide Synthase Expressing Neurons of the Amygdala. Eneuro, 3(5), ENEURO.0177-16.2016. https://doi.org/10.1523/eneuro.0177-16.2016
• Serotonin, Amygdala and Fear: Assembling the Puzzle
  
  Bocchio, M., McHugh, S. B., Bannerman, D. M., Sharp, T., & Capogna, M. (2016). Serotonin, Amygdala and Fear: Assembling the Puzzle. Frontiers in Neural Circuits, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2016.00024
• Hippocampal Theta Input to the Amygdala Shapes Feedforward Inhibition to Gate Heterosynaptic Plasticity
  
  Bazelot, M., Bocchio, M., Kasugai, Y., Fischer, D., Dodson, P., Ferraguti, F., & Capogna, M. (2015). Hippocampal Theta Input to the Amygdala Shapes Feedforward Inhibition to Gate Heterosynaptic Plasticity. Neuron, 87(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.08.024
• Increased Serotonin Transporter Expression Reduces Fear and Recruitment of Parvalbumin Interneurons of the Amygdala
  
  Bocchio, M., Fucsina, G., Oikonomidis, L., McHugh, S. B., Bannerman, D. M., Sharp, T., & Capogna, M. (2015). Increased Serotonin Transporter Expression Reduces Fear and Recruitment of Parvalbumin Interneurons of the Amygdala. Neuropsychopharmacology, 40(13). https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2015.157
• Oscillatory Substrates of Fear and Safety
  
  Bocchio, M., & Capogna, M. (2014). Oscillatory Substrates of Fear and Safety. Neuron, 83(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2014.08.014