Hanne Stensola

I have a BSc in biology from the University of Gothenburg, a BSc in neuroscience from the University of Otago, an MSc in neuroscience from the University of Oxford, and a Dr.Philos in neuroscience from the Moser lab at the Kavli Institute at NTNU. 

During my doctorate work, I recorded populations of grid cells with large anatomical coverage, and demonstrated that the global grid map consists of multiple modules. Following this I worked on how the grid map aligns to external world coordinates. This was the start of a long interest in how internal representations, like grid maps, are integrated with external sensory input.

After my Dr. Philos, I spent time as a postdoctoral researcher at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon. Here I was introduced to a more elaborate use of behavioral paradigms with the purpose of elucidating the biological basis of cognitive phenomena in mice. I moved to the field of olfactory neuroscience through this work. The olfactory system has many advantages when it comes to unraveling the boundary between the external and the internal representational space. Despite being close to sensory input, the olfactory cortex shares several features with higher order areas. Cells in primary olfactory cortex are more strongly driven by internal than sensory input, and it is considered an associational area rather than a pure sensory area. These features make the olfactory system an optimal model system for the study of dynamics between external and internal reality.

August 2021, I moved back home to Kristiansand, and started as an Associate Professor at UiA. Here I am building a neuroscience lab environment from scratch together with Tor Stensola. Our lab will continue a focus on the balance between internal and external representations. We will primarily work on the early olfactory system, but also on internal input areas such as the orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus and modulatory systems.