Vassiliy Tsytsarev, Ph.D., earned his doctorate in Neuroscience from Saint Petersburg State University, Russia. He began his international research career in Japan, working at RIKEN’s Brain Science Institute and the Human Brain Research Center in Kyoto. After seven years in Japan, he moved to the United States and held research positions at several institutions, including the University of Maryland. His current research focuses on epilepsy, neural circuits, the dopamine system, traumatic brain injury and regeneration, as well as neurotechnology and neurophotonics. He primarily works with rodent models—an ideal system for studying both normal brain function and neurological disorders. Dr. Tsytsarev has authored or co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters. He serves as an editor for multiple scientific journals and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT).
Education History
- Ph.D, Neuroscience, Saint-Petersburg State University
Work Experience
Assistant Research Professor, University of Maryland
Publications
Books
Tsytsarev V, Yamamoto V, Zhong N; Functional Brain Mapping: Methods and Aims ISBN 978-981-15-6882-4, DOI:10.1007/978-981-15-6883-1, Springer Nature, 2020
Book Chapters
1. Tizabi Y, Getachew B, Tsytsarev V, Csoka AB, Copeland RL and Heinbocke lT; Central Nicotinic and Muscarinic Receptors in Health and Disease; In: Acetylcholine – Recent Advances and New Perspectives; Open Books, ISBN 978-1-80355-598-0; 2023 DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.112447
2. Tsytsarev V. Optical imaging of epileptic seizures; Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023; N. V. Thakor (ed.), Handbook of Neuroengineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5540-1_124
3. Kalchenko V, Harmelin A, Israeli D, Kateb B, Meglinski I, Tang Q, Thakor NV, Ignashchenkova A, Volnova A, and Vassiliy Tsytsarev; Transcranial Dynamic Fluorescence Imaging for the Study of the Epileptic Seizures; 10.1007/978-981-15-6883-1_3 Springers Nature, 2020
4. Tsytsarev V, Papkovsky D. Chapter 16: In vivo Brain Functional Imaging Using Oxygenation-related Optical Signal. In: Quenched-phosphorescence Detection of Molecular Oxygen; Royal Society of Chemistry, 2018, ISBN: 978-1-78801-175-4, UK
5. Tsytsarev V and Erzurumlu R. Voltage-Sensitive Dye and Intrinsic Signal Optical imaging: Advantages and Disadvantages for Functional Brain Mapping. In: Brain Mapping and Therapeutics, 2017 by CRC ISBN 9781482236859
6. Kateb B, Boehm F, Jalali B, Tsytsarev V, Yamamoto V, Jalali B, Backer D, Pikul B, Yashar P, and Chen Y. History of Brain Mapping and Neurophotonics: from Technological Discoveries to Brain Initiative. In: Brain Mapping and Therapeutics, 2017 by CRC ISBN 9781482236859
7. Ascoli G, Berzhanskaya J, Tsytsarev V. Microscopy; Elsevier Inc, Encyclopedia of Neurological Sciences, 2nd ed. (M. Aminoff & R. Daroff, Eds.) 2014
Peer-Reviewed Articles
1. Tsytsarev V, Volnova A, Rojas L, Sanabria P, Ignashchenkova A, Ortiz-Rivera J, Alves J, Inyushin; 2025, Vectorial principles of sensorimotor decoding. M. Front Hum Neurosci. 2025 Jul 7;19:1612626. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1612626.
2. Faber J, Tsytsarev V, Pais-Vieira M, Aksenova T; 2025; Editorial: Sensorimotor decoding: characterization and modeling for rehabilitation and assistive technologies, volume II. Front Hum Neurosci. 2025 Jun 3;19:1619232. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1619232.
3. Tsytsarev V, Volnova A, Inyushin M; Transplanted Cells, Transferred Minds: Can Transplanted Cells Influence Mental Illness? (A Review) ISSN 1990-519X, Cell and Tissue Biology, 2025, Vol. 19, Suppl. 1, pp. S1–S13. DOI: 10.1134/S1990519X25600346
4. Vaganova AN, Murtazina RZ, Volnova AB , Tsytsarev V, Karaseva AB, Efimova EV and Gainetdinov RR; 2025; Transcriptomic Analysis of Taar5 Expression and Co-Expression Networks in the Cerebellum During Perinatal Development; Brain Sci. 2025, 15, 791; doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15080791
5. Rowe C, Santiago N, Warner J, Tsytsarev V, Rozhkova EA, Ngwu-Hyacinth O, Bolding M; Human Perception of Ionizing Radiation; Physics of Life Reviews (2025), doi: doi.org/10.1016/j.plrev.2025.02.002; In Press
6. Roldán-Kalil JA, Vendrell-Gonzalez SE, Espinosa-Ponce N, Colón-Vasques J, Ortiz-Rivera J, Tsytsarev V, Alves JM, Inyushin M. Impact of 6-OHDA injection and microtrauma in the rat substantia nigra on local brain amyloid beta protein concentrations in the affected area. Histol Histopathol. 2024 22:18836. doi: 10.14670/HH-18-836.
7. Zueva L, Tsytsarev V, Alves J, Inyushin M. Melanin in the Retinal Epithelium and Magnetic Sensing: A Review of Current Studies. Biophysica. 2024 Dec;4(4):466-476. doi: 10.3390/biophysica4040030
8. Fesenko Z, Ptukha M, da Silva MM, de Carvalho RSM, Tsytsarev V, Gainetdinov RR, Faber J, Volnova AB; Electrophysiological and Behavioral Markers of Hyperdopaminergia in DAT-KO Rats. Biomedicines. 2024 12(9):2114. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12092114
9. Tizabi Y, Getachew B, Hauser SR, Tsytsarev V, Manhaes AC, Silva VDA; Role of Glial Cells in Depression and Drug Addiction Authors; Brain Sci. 2024 May 30;14(6):558. doi: 10.3390/brainsci14060558
10. Sdobnov A, Tsytsarev V, Piavchenko G, Bykov A, Meglinski I. Beyond life: Exploring hemodynamic patterns in postmortem mice brains. J Biophotonics. 2024 Jul;17(7):e202400017. doi: 10.1002/jbio.202400017.
11. Tsytsarev V, Plachez C, (Co-First author), Zhao S, O’Connor D, Erzurumlu RS. Bilateral Whisker Representations in the Primary Somatosensory Cortex in Robo3cKO Mice are Reflected in the Primary Motor Cortex; Neuroscience; 2024; Mar 5:S0306-4522(24)00095-2 PMID: 38447690 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience2024.02.031
12. Tsytsarev V, Sopova JV, Leonova EI, Inyushin M, Markina AA, Chirinskaite AV, Volnova AB. Neurophotonics’ methods in approach to in vivo animal epileptic models: advantages and limitations. Epilepsia. 2023; 20. doi: 10.1111/epi.17870.
13. Wang Y, Tsytsarev V (Co-First author), Liao LD; In Vivo Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging of 4-Aminopyridine- or Pentylenetetrazole-Induced Seizures. APL Bioeng. 2023 Sep 28;7(3):036119. doi: 10.1063/5.0158791
14. Pais-Vieira M, Aksenova T, Tsytsarev V, Faber J. Editorial: Sensorimotor decoding: characterization and modeling for rehabilitation and assistive technologies. Front Hum Neurosci. 2023 Jul 18;17:1243226. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1243226.
15. Sibarov DA, Tsytsarev V, Volnova A, Vaganova AN, Alves J, Rojas L, Sanabria P, Ignashchenkova A, Savage ED, Inyushin M. Arc protein, a remnant of ancient retrovirus, forms virus-like particles, which are abundantly generated by neurons during epileptic seizures, and affects epileptic susceptibility in rodent models. Front Neurol. 2023; 7;14:1201104. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1201104.
16. Alves JM, Inyushin M, Tsytsarev V, Roldan-Kalil JA, Miranda-Valentin E, Maldonado-Martinez G, Ramos-Feliciano KM, Hunter-Mellado R. Adjuvant effect of dendritic cells activator Imiquimod in genetic immunization with HIV-1 p55 Gag. J Immunol Tech Infect Dis. 2023;12(1):330.
17. Plachez C, Tsytsarev V (Co-First author), Zhao S, Erzurumlu RS. Amyloid deposition and dendritic complexity of corticocortical projection cells in 5xFAD mouse. Neuroscience. 2023, 21;512:85-98. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.12.013
18. Roldan-Kalil J, Zueva L, Alves J, Tsytsarev V, Sanabria P, Inyushin M. Amount of Melanin Granules in Human Hair Defines the Absorption and Conversion to Heat of Light Energy in the Visible Spectrum. Photochem Photobiol. 2022, doi: 10.1111/php.13744
19. Tsytsarev V, Kwon SE, Plachez C, Zhao S, O’Connor DH, Erzurumlu RS. Layers 3 and 4 Neurons of the Bilateral Whisker-Barrel Cortex. Neuroscience. 2022 1;494:140-151. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.05.018
20. Zueva L, Zayas-Santiago A, Rojas L, Sanabria P, Alves J, Tsytsarev V, Inyushin M. Multilayer subwavelength gratings or sandwiches with periodic structure shape light reflection in the tapetum lucidum of taxonomically diverse vertebrate animals. J Biophotonics. 2022, 15(6):e202200002. doi: 10.1002/jbio.202200002
21. Volnova A, Tsytsarev V, Ganina O, Velez-Crespo GE, Alves JM, Ignashchenkova A, Inyushin M. The Anti-Epileptic Effects of Carbenoxolone In Vitro and In Vivo.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022, 8;23(2):663. doi:10.3390/ijms23020663
22. Tsytsarev V. Methodological aspects of studying the mechanisms of consciousness. Behav Brain Res. 2022, 15;419:113684. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113684
23. Chen Z, Tsytsarev V (Co-First author), Finfrock YZ, Antipova OA, Cai Z, Arakawa H, Lischka FW, Hooks BM, Wilton R, Wang D, Liu Y, Gaitan B, Tao Y, Chen Y, Erzurumlu RS, Yang H, Rozhkova EA. Wireless Optogenetic Modulation of Cortical Neurons Enabled by Radioluminescent Nanoparticles. ACS Nano, 2021, 23;15(3):5201-5208. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.0c10436
24. Volnova A, Tsytsarev V, Ptukha M, Inyushin M; In Vitro and In Vivo Study of the Short-Term Vasomotor Response during Epileptic Seizures. Brain Sci. 2020, 7;10(12):942. doi: 10.3390/brainsci10120942
25. Tang Q, Tsytsarev V, Yan F, Wang C, Erzurumlu RS, Chen Y. In vivo voltage-sensitive dye imaging of mouse cortical activity with mesoscopic optical tomography. Neurophotonics. 2020, 7(4):041402. doi: 10.1117/1.NPh.7.4.041402
26. Mueller BJ, Zhdanov AV, Borisov SM, Foley T, Okkelman IA, Tsytsarev V, Tang Q, Erzurumlu RS, Chen Y, Zhang H, Toncelli C, Klimant I, Papkovsky DB, Dmitriev RI. Nanoparticle-based fluoroionophore for analysis of potassium ion dynamics in 3D tissue models and in vivo. Adv Funct Mater. 2018, 28;28(9):1704598. doi: 10.1002/adfm.201704598
27. Lee LJ, Tsytsarev V, Erzurumlu RS. Structural and functional differences in the barrel cortex of Mecp2 null mice J Comp Neurol. 2017, 15;525(18):3951-3961. doi: 10.1002/cne.24315
28. Kwon SE, Tsytsarev V, Erzurumlu RS, O’Connor DH. Organization of orientation-specific whisker deflection responses in layer 2/3 of mouse somatosensory cortex. Neuroscience. 2018, 1;368:46-56. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.07.067
29. Tang Q, Liu Y, Tsytsarev V, Lin J, Wang B, Kanniyappan U, Li Z, Chen Y. High-dynamic-range fluorescence laminar optical tomography (HDR-FLOT). Biomed Opt Express. 2017, 9;8(4):2124-2137. doi: 10.1364/BOE.8.002124
30. Tsytsarev V, Arakawa H, Zhao S, Chédotal A, Erzurumlu RS. Behavioral Consequences of a Bifacial Map in the Mouse Somatosensory Cortex. J Neurosci. 2017, 26;37(30):7209-7218. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0598-17.2017
31. Nag OK, Stewart MH, Deschamps JR, Susumu K, Oh E, Tsytsarev V, Tang Q, Efros AL, Vaxenburg R, Black BJ, Chen Y, O’Shaughnessy TJ, North SH, Field LD, Dawson PE, Pancrazio JJ, Medintz IL, Chen Y, Erzurumlu RS, Huston AL, Delehanty JB. Quantum Dot-Peptide-Fullerene Bioconjugates for Visualization of in Vitro and in Vivo Cellular Membrane Potential. ACS Nano. 2017, 27;11(6):5598-5613. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.7b00954
32. Nikzad S, Chen Y, Tsytsarev V, Kateb B, Grundfest W. Special Section Guest Editorial: Brain Mapping and Therapeutics. Neurophotonics. 2017, 4(1):011001. doi: 10.1117/1.NPh.4.1.011001
33. Tsytsarev V, Pumbo E, Tang Q, Chen CW, Kalchenko V, Chen Y. Study of the cortical representation of whisker frequency selectivity using voltage-sensitive dye optical imaging. Intravital. 2016, 18;5(1):e1142637. doi: 10.1080/21659087.2016.1142637
34. Tsytsarev V, Akkentli F, Pumbo E, Tang Q, Chen Y, Erzurumlu RS, Papkovsky DB. Planar implantable sensor for in vivo measurement of cellular oxygen metabolism in brain tissue. J Neurosci Methods. 2017, 1;281:1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2017.02.005
35. Tang Q, Lin J, Tsytsarev V, Erzurumlu RS, Liu Y, Chen Y. Review of mesoscopic optical tomography for depth-resolved imaging of hemodynamic changes and neural activities. Neurophotonics. 2017, 4(1):011009. doi: 10.1117/1.NPh.4.1.011009
36. Gottschalk S, Fehm TF, Deán-Ben XL, Tsytsarev V, Razansky D. Correlation between volumetric oxygenation responses and electrophysiology identifies deep thalamocortical activity during epileptic seizures. Neurophotonics. 2017, 4(1):011007 doi: 10.1117/1.NPh.4.1.011007
37. Tang Q, Tsytsarev V (Co-First author), Frank A, Wu Y, Chen CW, Erzurumlu RS, Chen Y. In Vivo Mesoscopic Voltage-Sensitive Dye Imaging of Brain Activation. Sci Rep. 2016, 29;6:25269. doi: 10.1038/srep25269
38. Tang Q, Tsytsarev V (Co-First author), Liang CP, Akkentli F, Erzurumlu RS, Chen Y. In Vivo Voltage-Sensitive Dye Imaging of Subcortical Brain Function. Sci Rep. 2015, 27;5:17325. doi: 10.1038/srep17325
39. Arakawa H, Suzuki A, Zhao S, Tsytsarev V, Lo FS, Hayashi Y, Itohara S, Iwasato T, Erzurumlu RS. Thalamic NMDA receptor function is necessary for patterning of the thalamocortical somatosensory map and for sensorimotor behaviors. J Neurosci. 2014, 3;34(36):12001-14. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1663-14.2014
40. Tsytsarev V, Liao LD, Kong KV, Liu YH, Erzurumlu RS, Olivo M, Thakor NV. Recent progress in voltage-sensitive dye imaging for neuroscience. J Nanosci Nanotechnol. 2014, 14(7):4733-44. doi: 10.1166/jnn.2014.9531
41. Lo FS, Akkentli F, Tsytsarev V, Erzurumlu RS Functional significance of cortical NMDA receptors in somatosensory information processing. J Neurophysiol. 2013, 110(11):2627-36. doi: 10.1152/jn.00052.2013
42. Liao LD, Tsytsarev V (Co-First author), Delgado-Martínez I, Li ML, Erzurumlu R, Vipin A, Orellana J, Lin YR, Lai HY, Chen YY, Thakor NV. Neurovascular coupling: in vivo optical techniques for functional brain imaging. Biomed Eng Online. 2013 Apr 30;12:38. doi: 10.1186/1475-925X-12-38
43. Tsytsarev V, Arakawa H, Borisov S, Pumbo E, Erzurumlu RS, Papkovsky DB. In vivo imaging of brain metabolism activity using a phosphorescent oxygen-sensitive probe. J Neurosci Methods. 2013, 15;216(2):146-51. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2013.04.005
44. Tsytsarev V, Rao B, Maslov KI, Li L, Wang LV. Photoacoustic and optical coherence tomography of epilepsy with high temporal and spatial resolution and dual optical contrasts. J Neurosci Methods. 2013, 15;216(2):142-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2013.04.001
45. Tsytsarev V, Bernardelli C, Maslov KI.Living Brain Optical Imaging: Technology, Methods and Applications. J Neurosci Neuroeng. 2012, 1(2):180-192. doi: 10.1166/jnsne.2012.1020
46. Lenkov DN, Volnova AB, Pope AR, Tsytsarev V. Advantages and limitations of brain imaging methods in the research of absence epilepsy in humans and animal models. J Neurosci Methods. 2013, 30;212(2):195-202. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2012.10.018
47. Yao J, Xia J, Maslov KI, Nasiriavanaki M, Tsytsarev V, Demchenko AV, Wang LV. Noninvasive photoacoustic computed tomography of mouse brain metabolism in vivo. Neuroimage. 2013, 1;64:257-66. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.08.054
48. Tsytsarev V, Maslov KI, Yao J, Parameswar AR, Demchenko AV, Wang LV. In vivo imaging of epileptic activity using 2-NBDG, a fluorescent deoxyglucose analog. J Neurosci Methods. 2012, 15;203(1):136-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2011.09.005
49. Tsytsarev V, Hu S, Yao J, Maslov K, Barbour DL, Wang LV. Photoacoustic microscopy of microvascular responses to cortical electrical stimulation. J Biomed Opt. 2011, 16(7):076002. doi: 10.1117/1.3594785
50. Tsytsarev V, Pope D, Pumbo E, Yablonskii A, Hofmann M.Study of the cortical representation of whisker directional deflection using voltage-sensitive dye optical imaging. Neuroimage. 2010, 15;53(1):233-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.06.022
51. Tsytsarev V, Pope D, Pumbo E, Garver W. Intrinsic optical imaging of directional selectivity in rat barrel cortex: application of a multidirectional magnetic whisker stimulator. J Neurosci Methods. 2010, 30;189(1):80-3; doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2010.03.010
52. Hu S, Maslov K, Tsytsarev V, Wang LV. Functional transcranial brain imaging by optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy. J Biomed Opt. 2009, 14(4):040503. doi: 10.1117/1.3194136
53. Tsytsarev V, Fukuyama H, Pope D, Pumbo E, Kimura M. Optical imaging of interaural time difference representation in rat auditory cortex. Front Neuroeng. 2009, 2;2:2. doi: 10.3389/neuro.16.002.2009
54. Tsytsarev V, Premachandra K, Takeshita D, Bahar S. Imaging cortical electrical stimulation in vivo: fast intrinsic optical signal versus voltage-sensitive dyes. Opt Lett. 2008,1;33(9):1032-4. doi: 10.1364/ol.33.001032
55. Tsytsarev V, Taketani M, Schottler F, Tanaka S, Hara M. A new planar multielectrode array: recording from a rat auditory cortex. J Neural Eng. 2006, 3(4):293-8. doi: 10.1088/1741-2560/3/4/006
56. Callan DE, Tsytsarev V, Hanakawa T, Callan AM, Katsuhara M, Fukuyama H, Turner R. Song and speech: brain regions involved with perception and covert production. Neuroimage. 2006, 1;31(3):1327-42. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.01.036
57. Tsytsarev V, Yamazaki T, Ribot J, Tanaka S. Sound frequency representation in cat auditory cortex. Neuroimage. 2004, 23(4):1246-55. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.08.021
58. Tsytsarev V, Tanaka S. Intrinsic optical signals from rat primary auditory cortex in response to sound stimuli presented to contralateral, ipsilateral and bilateral ears. Neuroreport. 2002, 16;13(13):1661-6. doi: 10.1097/00001756-200209160-00019
59. Tsytsarev VIu, Lenkov DN, Vol’nova AB. [Effect of tetanization of the motor cortex on neuronal responses in the albino rat mesial cortex]. Ross Fiziol Zh Im I M Sechenova. 1999, 85(8):1116-8
60. Tsytsarev VIu, Ignashchenkova AIu. [Effect of stimulation of the peripheral pathways and somatosensory cortex on the neuronal activity of the medial wall of the prefrontal cortex in the white rat]. Fiziol Zh Im I M Sechenova. 1996, 82(1):45-51
61. Iniushin MIu, Tsytsarev VIu, Ignashchenkova AIu, Lenkov DN. [The use of artificial ion channels for the quasi-intracellular recording of the activity of cerebral cortex neurons]. Fiziol Zh Im I M Sechenova. 1996, 82(1):18-24
62. Tsytsarev VIu, Golikova TV. [The effect of stimulation of the cingulate cortex on the neuronal activity of the motor cortex in the white rat]. Fiziol Zh Im I M Sechenova. 1993, 79(9):106-8
Professional Organizations
Society for Brain Mapping and Theraputics
Society for Neuroscience