Ksenia Kastanenka

Ksenia Kastanenka, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She leads a research laboratory focusing on neurodegeneration and Alzheimer’s disease. Her work emphasizes understanding how circuitry disruptions contribute to the progression of Alzheimer's and the mechanisms behind various therapeutic interventions.

Education and Research Background

Dr. Kastanenka earned her Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where she specialized in studying neuronal circuits using advanced techniques like optogenetics. Over the past decade, she has shifted her focus to Alzheimer's disease, applying her expertise to investigate the role of sleep-dependent brain rhythms in the disease's etiology and progression.

Research Contributions

Her laboratory employs cutting-edge methods such as optogenetics and multiphoton microscopy to explore how slow oscillations during sleep affect memory consolidation and how these processes are disrupted in Alzheimer’s patients. Notably, her research has shown that manipulating slow oscillations can impact amyloid plaque deposition and neuronal activity, suggesting potential therapeutic avenues for treating Alzheimer's disease.

Key Findings

• Slow oscillations at 0.6 Hz are crucial for memory consolidation, with disruptions noted in Alzheimer’s models.
• Exogenous GABA application can restore slow wave activity, indicating that imbalances in cortical excitation may underlie dysfunction.
• Optogenetic manipulation of slow waves can either halt or exacerbate amyloid production depending on the frequency of stimulation.

Dr. Kastanenka's work is pivotal in advancing our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and exploring novel treatment strategies that target neuronal circuit dynamics to mitigate disease progression.