Detlef Balschun

Detlef Balschun is a Professor at KU Leuven within the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, leading the Electrophysiology group at the Laboratory of Biological Psychology. He obtained his PhD in Biology from Martin-Luther-University Halle (1984) and later habilitation (D.Sc) on hippocampal synaptic plasticity (2002). His career spans from postdoc at MLU Halle to group leader at Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology.

• Current role: Professor (since 2005)
• Research focus: Synaptic plasticity, memory mechanisms, Alzheimer’s disease, and neurodegenerative disorders

His group investigates long-term potentiation (LTP), long-term depression (LTD), and depotentiation as cellular correlates of learning, with emphasis on hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Methodologies include brain slice electrophysiology (extracellular, patch-clamp, multielectrode arrays) and in-vivo recording techniques.

Key findings from his work include the role of Tau pathology in synaptic plasticity deficits, the therapeutic potential of sodium selenate, and insights into schizophrenia-like symptoms via syndapin I knockout models. His publications highlight synaptic mechanisms and neurodegenerative disease modeling.

His recent articles demonstrate regional vulnerability in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, effects of ionizing radiation on lipid peroxidation, and the interplay of amyloid-beta and Tau in Alzheimer’s pathology. Collaborative studies span synaptic plasticity, cognitive flexibility, and neural oscillations in animal models.