Max Neuhaus grew up in Kerpen, Germany, as the oldest of four brothers. He studied Psychology and Neuroscience at Maastricht University, where a bachelor thesis on the limits of current antidepressants opened his eyes to how many people with depression fall through the gaps of today’s treatments. That question drew him deeper into the field, and he went on to complete a cum laude Research Master in Drug Development and Neurohealth at the same university, turning his focus to the science of psychedelics.
As a Doctoral Candidate in Maria Lindskog’s lab at Uppsala University, he now asks how these compounds reshape the brain at the synaptic level, using animal models and hippocampal slice electrophysiology to probe the mechanisms that may underlie their therapeutic potential. Secondments in medicinal chemistry and clinical EEG round out his training and help bridge animal research and the clinic. Outside the lab, he enjoys traveling, making new friends, and weekend escapes.
Maria Lindskog,
Principal Investigator
My lab is interested in understanding the synaptic tuning mechanisms that generate the robust—yet highly plastic—system that is the brain. Rather than serving as a volume control in which neurotransmission can be turned up or down, we compare synaptic tuning to a gearbox, in which the overall drive and acceleration are modulated through different forms of plasticity.
Psychedelic substances have a profound impact on synaptic plasticity, and we are investigating the role of synaptic plasticity in the potential antidepressant effect of psychedelic drugs. We do behavioral, electrophysiological and biochemical experiments using laboratory animals.
