Research Overview

Our laboratory focuses on “memory precision and cognitive homeostasis” as a central scientific theme. By studying how the brain forms, updates, and preserves memories, we seek to uncover the mechanisms that maintain cognitive function and reveal how disruptions in these processes contribute to neuropsychiatric disorders and age-related cognitive decline.

Our research focuses on three major areas:

1. Neural circuit and synaptic mechanisms underlying memory formation and updating;

2. Neural mechanisms underlying aging-associated cognitive decline;

3. Adult neural stem cells in brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases.

Selected publications

1. Fuling Wu*, Yingxue Wu*, Bingbing Qin, Jinfeng Zhang, Xinyu Zhu, Shuji Li, Yuehao Chen, Jingyi Lin, Xiaofei Zheng, Amar Sahay, Feng Yi, and Nannan Guo^#. Suppressing Neural Stem Cell PLA2G7 Restores Inhibitory Circuit Function and Improves Cognition in Aging Mice. Accepted in Nature Aging. 2026

2. Yuning Liu*, Yinyin Li*, Hui Zhou*, Jieli Yu, Pei Deng, Weiwei Xu, Bingqian Pan, Lei Zhang, Hong Zhou, Jing Zhang, Xiaohan Liu, Min Shi, Xianchi Dong, Bei Tong^#, Enguang Bi^#, Nannan Guo^#, Yu Hu^#. Antibody-induced internalization and degradation of PLA2R amplifies CD4⁺ T cell activation. Theranostics. 2026 Jan 1;16(1):37-57. (*, Co-first authors who contributed equally to this work; ^#, Corresponding authors)

3. Nannan Guo, Kelsey D McDermott, Yu-Tzu Shih, Haley Zanga, Debolina Ghosh, Charlotte Herber, William R Meara, James Coleman, Alexia Zagouras, Lai Ping Wong, Ruslan Sadreyev, J Tiago Gonçalves, Amar Sahay. Transcriptional regulation of neural stem cell expansion in the adult hippocampus. Elife. 2022 Jan 4;11:e72195.

4. Cinzia Vicidomini*, Nannan Guo* and Amar Sahay. Communication, Cross Talk, and Signal Integrationin the Adult Hippocampal Neurogenic Niche. Neuron. 2020 Jan 105(2):220-235. (*, Co-first authors who contributed equally to this work)

5. Nannan Guo, Marta E. Soden, Charlotte Herber, Michael TaeWoo Kim, Antoine Besnard, Paoyan Lin, Xiang Ma, Constance L. Cepko, Larry S. Zweifel, and Amar Sahay. Dentate granule cell recruitment of feedforward inhibition governs engram maintenance and remote memory generalization. Nature Medicine. 2018 May 12;24(4):438-449.