Faculty A-Z
Qi Yuan
Professor of Neurosciences PhD (糖心视频 University)BioMedical Sciences
| Education: Ph.D. 糖心视频 University Postdoctoral Appointments: Riken Brain Science Institute University of California at San Diego/Howard Hughes Medical Institute |
Research
The ability to learn and remember defines individual identity, yet memory disorders such as Alzheimer鈥檚 disease (AD) progressively erode these processes. The Yuan Lab integrates established and emerging approaches to investigate the mechanisms underlying learning and memory, as well as their disruption during aging and AD.
Our research focuses on four main areas:
Locus coeruleus-norepinephrine modulation of learning and Alzheimer鈥檚 disease
The locus coeruleus plays a central role in learning, memory, and AD progression. Its functional impact depends on firing patterns: phasic activation enhances discrimination learning and positive memory formation, whereas elevated tonic activity promotes stress and negative associations. We investigate how these activity modes influence cognitive function and tau pathology using a novel rat model of AD.
Environmental modulation of pretangle tau pathology
We have developed a pretangle tau rat model that captures early, preclinical stages of AD as described by Braak. Using this model, we examine how environmental factors, including stress, enrichment, and diet, shape disease progression and associated epigenetic regulation.
Calcium dysregulation in aging and Alzheimer鈥檚 disease
Through behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular approaches, we study how disruptions in calcium signaling contribute to synaptic dysfunction and cognitive decline in both normal aging and AD.
Higher-order memory formation
Using retrograde tracing, optogenetics, and molecular profiling, we map neural circuits underlying stress- and reward-based learning. We also examine the cellular and epigenetic signatures of first- and second-order conditioning, with implications for disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Selected Recent Publications
Hasan Z, Torraville SE, Omoluabi T, Maziar A, Belolise ON, MacGowan LA, Flynn CM, Reinhardt C, Walling SG, Benoukraf T, Yuan Q. Sex and life experience shape locus coeruleus pretangle tau pathology. Alzheimer鈥檚 & Dementia. 2026;22(3):e71285.
Stapleton HM, Borges DS, Trindade EBSM, Yuan Q. Sex-dependent locus coeruleus vulnerability in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease: gut dysbiosis as a driver and probiotic intervention as rescue. Biology of Sex Differences. 2026;17(1):34.
Omoluabi T, Hasan Z, Piche JE, Flynn ARS, Dor茅 JJE, Walling SG, Weeks ACW, Benoukraf T, Yuan Q. Locus coeruleus vulnerability to tau hyperphosphorylation in a rat model. Aging Cell. 2025;24(3):e14405.
Flynn CM, Omoluabi T, Janes AM, Rodgers EJ, Torraville SE, Negandhi BL, Nobel TE, Mayengbam S, Yuan Q. Targeting early tau pathology: probiotic diet enhances cognitive function and reduces inflammation in a preclinical Alzheimer鈥檚 model. Alzheimer鈥檚 Research & Therapy. 2025;17(1):24.
Sepahvand T, Qin T, Hasan Z, Power KD, Carew SJ, Nazari N, Janes AM, Salman A, Xia Y, Benoukraf T, Yuan Q. Second-order threat conditioning in the amygdala鈥損osterior piriform cortex network. Communications Biology. 2025;8(1):846.
Crossley CA, Omoluabi T, Torraville SE, Duraid S, Maziar A, Hasan Z, Rajani V, Ando K, Johannes Hell, Yuan Q. Hippocampal hyperphosphorylated tau-induced deficits are rescued by L-type calcium channel blockade. Brain Communications. 2024:fcae096.
Sepahvand T, Nazari N, Qin T, Rajani V, Yuan Q. Olfactory threat extinction in the piriform cortex: age-dependent recruitment of NMDA receptor-dependent long-term depression. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2023;120(44):e2309986120.
Sepahvand T, Power KD, Qin T, Yuan Q. The basolateral amygdala as a core network for threat conditioning, extinction, and second-order conditioning. Biology (Basel). 2023;12(10):1274.
Maziar A, Critch TNRHY, Ghosh S, Rajani V, Flynn CM, Qin T, Reinhardt C, Man KN, Lee A, Johannes Hell, Yuan Q. Aging-induced overexpression and hyperfunction of L-type calcium channels in hippocampal CA1 neurons are not observed in piriform cortex pyramidal neurons. Cerebral Cortex. 2022:bhac152.
Omoluabi T, Torraville SE, Maziar A, Ghosh A, Power KD, Reinhardt C, Harley CW, Yuan Q. Novelty-like locus coeruleus activation protects against deleterious pretangle tau effects, whereas stress-like activation exacerbates them. Alzheimer鈥檚 & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions. 2021;7(1):e12231.
Ghosh A, Massaeli F, Power KD, Omoluabi T, Torraville SE, Pritchett JB, Sepahvand T, Strong VD, Reinhardt C, Chen X, Martin GM, Harley CW, Yuan Q. Locus coeruleus activation patterns differentially modulate odor discrimination and valence. Cerebral Cortex Communications. 2021;2(2):tgab026.
Ghosh A, Torraville SE, Mukherjee B, Walling SG, Martin GM, Harley CW, Yuan Q. An experimental model of Braak鈥檚 pretangle hypothesis: locus coeruleus involvement in early Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Alzheimer鈥檚 Research & Therapy. 2019;11(1):59.
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Lab Retreat 2021