A window to the hippocampus - the effect of aging on the brain's memory center 
Signe Hirschel Mikkelsen

A window to the hippocampus furthers the study of aging in mice. A new PhD project from Aarhus University, Health, investigates the function of the brain’s smallest blood vessels during early aging. The project was carried out by Signe Hirschel Mikkelsen, who is defending her dissertation on 26/01/26. 

Efficient delivery of oxygen and nutrients through the brain’s vascular network is essential for normal brain function. Disruptions in blood flow regulation and oxygen supply are thought to play an important role in cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disease, where aging is a primary risk factor. Vascular alterations typically arise before the onset of clinical symptoms, and these changes are particularly relevant in the hippocampus, a structure with unique vascular organization and a central role in learning and memory. This dissertation presents the development and validation of a cranial window to investigate hippocampal microvascular function in healthy aging in a murine model. Using complementary in vivo optical imaging techniques in awake mice, the project measured flow dynamics and oxygenation in the hippocampus, coupling the physiological estimates to assessments of learning and memory and immune-related changes associated with aging.

The PhD defense is public and ALL ARE WELCOME.
After the defence CFIN is hosting a reception in The Pavilion, Building 1710, Universitetsbyen 3, 8000 Aarhus C.

Assessment committee
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• Professor Catherine Hall, UK DRI Centre for Vascular Dementia, School of Psychology and Sussex Neuroscience; University of Sussex, Brighton, Sussex, UK
• Associate Professor Maj Schneider Thomsen, Neurobiology Research and Drug Delivery, Department of Health Science and Technology,Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
• Professor Jacob Fog Bentzon, Department of Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
   
• Main supervisor: Professor Leif Østergaard, CFIN - Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University

Contact
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Signe Hirschel Mikkelsen 
https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/persons/simi@cfin.au.dk/
Email: simi@cfin.au.dk 
Phone: +45 42 91 66 18