Division of Neurophysiology (Center for Brain Research)
Position: Research Assistant
Location: Spitalgasse 4
Phone: +43 1 40160-34125
E-Mail: irisz.szabo@meduniwien.ac.at
Principle Investigator(s)
Abstract
I am a neuroscientist specializing in behavioral and systems neuroscience, with a focus on neuromodulator signaling and reinforcement learning. My research combines behavioral paradigms with in vivo techniques to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying adaptive behavior. During my PhD, I studied neuroprotective and neurovascular processes in ischemic stroke using electrophysiology and pharmacological approaches. In my postdoctoral work, I focus on systems-level analysis, applying fiber photometry and electrophysiology in behaving animals to explore circuit dynamics underlying learning.
Techniques
- In vivo electrophysiology
- Fiber photometry in behaving animals
- Optotagging
- Rodent behavioral training and task design
- Reinforcement learning paradigms
- Viral vector-based neuronal labeling and manipulation
- Pharmacological interventions in vivo
- Stroke and neurodegeneration models
- Multimodal data analysis (behavioral, electrophysiological, optical)
- Systems-level analysis of neuromodulatory circuits
Selected publications
- Schlingloff D*, Szabó I*, Gulyás E, Király B, Kispál R, Stephenson-Jones M, Hangya B (2026) Most ventral pallidal cholinergic neurons are bursting basal forebrain cholinergic neurons with mesocorticolimbic connectivity J Neurosci, : e0415252026
| Article (PDF) || Weblink | - Hegedüs P*, Király B*, Schlingloff D*, Lyakhova V, Velencei A, Szabo I, Mayer M, Zelenak Z, Nyiri G, Hangya B (2024) Parvalbumin-expressing basal forebrain neurons mediate learning from negative experience Nat Commun, 15 (1)
| Article (PDF) || Weblink | - Szabó I, Varga V, Dvorácskó S, Farkas A, Körmöczi T, Berkecz R, Kecskés S, Menyhárt ?, Frank R, Hantosi D, Cozzi N, Frecska E, Tömböly C, Krizbai I, Bari F, Farkas E (2021) N,N-Dimethyltryptamine attenuates spreading depolarization and restrains neurodegeneration by sigma-1 receptor activation in the ischemic rat brain Neuropharmacology, 192: 108612
| Article (PDF) || Weblink | - Varga D*, Szabó I*, Varga V, Menhyárt A, M. Tóth O, Kozma M, Bálint A, Krizbai I, Bari F, Farkas E (2020) The antagonism of prostaglandin FP receptors inhibits the evolution of spreading depolarization in an experimental model of global forebrain ischemia Neurobiol Dis, 137: 104780
| Article (PDF) || Weblink | - Szabó I, M. Tóth O, Török Z, Varga D, Menyhárt A, Frank R, Hantosi D, Hunya A, Bari F, Horváth I, Vigh L, Farkas E (2019) The impact of dihydropyridine derivatives on the cerebral blood flow response to somatosensory stimulation and spreading depolarization Br J Pharmacol, 176 (9): 1222-1234
| Article (PDF) || Weblink |