Recommended Readings:Detlev Arendt, Ph.D.

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Olga Nilova

Friday Lecture Series

The Evolutionary Origin of the Vertebrate Brain

Detlev Arendt, Ph.D., honorary professor, University of Heidelberg, Germany;

group leader and senior scientist, European Molecular Biology Laboratory

May 3, 2013

3:45 p.m.-5:00 p.m. (Refreshments, 3:15 p.m., Abby Lounge)

Caspary Auditorium

Recommended Readings

Arendt, D., Tessmar-Raible, K., Snyman, H., Dorresteijn, A. W., & Wittbrodf, J. (2004). Ciliary photoreceptors with a vertebrate-type opsin in an invertebrate brain. Science, 306(5697), 869-871

Christodoulou, F., Raible, F., Tomer, R., Simakov, O., Trachana, K., Klaus, S., . . . Arendt, D. (2010). Ancient animal microRNAs and the evolution of tissue identity. Nature, 463(7284), 1084-1088

Raible, F., Tessmar-Raible, K., Osoegawa, K., Wincker, P., Jubin, C., Balavoine, G., . . . Arendt, D. (2005). Evolution: Vertebrate-type intron-rich genes in the marine annelid platynereis dumerilii. Science, 310(5752), 1325-1326

Tessmar-Raible, K., & Arendt, D. (2003). Emerging systems: Between vertebrates and arthropods, the lophotrochozoa. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 13(4), 331-340

Tomer, R., Denes, A. S., Tessmar-Raible, K., & Arendt, D. (2010). Profiling by image registration reveals common origin of annelid mushroom bodies and vertebrate pallium. Cell, 142(5), 800-809

Recommended Readings: Roderick MacKinnon, M.D.

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Olga Nilova

Friday Lecture Series

Inaugural Bruce Merrifield Distinguished Lecture; Ph.D. Recruitment Lecture

The Incredible Diversity of K+ Channels

Roderick MacKinnon, M.D., John D. Rockefeller Jr. Professor, and head,

Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University;

investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

March 1, 2012

3:45 p.m.-5:00 p.m. (Refreshments, 3:15 p.m., Abby Lounge)

Caspary Auditorium

Recommended Readings

Hansen, S. B., Tao, X., & MacKinnon, R. (2011). Structural basis of PIP 2 activation of the classical inward rectifier K + channel Kir2.2. Nature, 477(7365), 495-498

Lee, S. -., Banerjee, A., & MacKinnon, R. (2009). Two separate interfaces between the voltage sensor and pore are required for the function of voltage-dependent K + channels. PLoS Biology, 7(3)

Lee, S. -., Lee, A., Chen, J., & MacKinnon, R. (2005). Structure of the KvAP voltage-dependent K + channel and its on the lipid membrane. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(43), 15441-15446

Long, S. B., Tao, X., Campbell, E. B., & MacKinnon, R. (2007). Atomic structure of a voltage-dependent K+ channel in a lipid membrane-like environment. Nature, 450(7168), 376-382

Schmidt, D., & MacKinnon, R. (2008). Voltage-dependent K + channel gating and voltage sensor toxin sensitivity depend on the mechanical state of the lipid membrane. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(49), 19276-19281

Tao, X., Avalos, J. L., Chen, J., & MacKinnon, R. (2009). Crystal structure of the eukaryotic strong inward-rectifier K + channel Kir2.2 at 3.1 Å resolution. Science, 326(5960), 1668-1674

Recommended Readings: Robert Johnston, Jr. PhD Dec 10, 2012

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Carol Feltes

Controlling Stochastic Gene Expression in the Drosophila retina

Robert Johnston, Jr. PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Department of Biology, Center for Developmental Genetics

New York University

Monday, December 10, 2012

4 p.m. , Caspary Auditorium. Refreshments 3:45 p.m.

Recommended Readings:

Sood, P; Johnston, RJ Jr.;Kusssell, E. 2012. Stochastic de-repression of rhodopsins in single photoreceptors of the fly retina. PLoS Computational Biology. 8(2):e1002357. DOI:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002357

Johnson, RJ, Jr.; Desplan, C. 2010. Stochastic mechanisms of cell fate specification that yield random or robust outcomes. Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology. 26:689-719. DOI:10.1146/annurev-cellbio-100109-104113

Jukam, D; Desplan, C. 2010. Binary date decisions in differentiating neurons. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. 20(1):6-13. DOI:10.1016/j.conb.2009.11.002

Wenet, MF; Mazzoni, EO; Ceclik A; et al. 2006. Stochastic spineless expression creates the retinal mosaic for colour vision. NATURE. 440(7081):174-180. DOI:10.1038/nature04615

Bell, ML; Earl, JB; Britt, SG. 2007. Two types of Drosophila R7 photoreceptor cells are arranged randomly: a model for stochastic cell-fate determination. Journal of Comparative Neurology. 502(1):75-85. DOI:10.1002/cne.21298.

Chanas, SA; Collinson, JM; Ramaesh, T; et al. 2009. Effects of elevated Pax6 expression and genetic background on mouse eye development. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 50(9):4045-4059. DOI:10-1167/iovs.07-1630

Johnson, RJ Jr.; Desplan, C. 2008. Stochastic neuronal cell fate choices. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. 18(1):20-27. DOI:10.1016/j.conb.2008.04.004

Recommended Readings: Marco Tripodi PhD Oct 8 2012

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Carol Feltes

Spatiotemporal Control of Motor Circuit Assembly and Function

Marco Tripodi, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Biozentrum

University of Basel and

Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research

Monday, October 8, 2012

4:00 p.m., Caspary Auditorium

Recommended Readings:

Arber, Silvia. 2012. Motor circuits in action: specification, connectivity and function. Neuron. 74(6):975-969 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.05.011

Martin, John H. 2012. Systems neurobiology of restorative neurology and future directions for repair of the damaged motor systems. Clinical Neurobiology and Neurosurgery. 114(5, Sp.Issue S1):515-523. DOI: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2012.01.011 Please request from Markus Library.

Denk, W.; K.L. Briggman; M. Helmstaedter. 2012. Structural neurobiology: missing link t o a mechanistic understanding of neural computation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 13(5):351-358. DOI: 10.1038/nrn3169

Tripodi, M.; A. E. Stepien; and S. Arber. 2011. Motor antagonism exposed by spatial segregation and timing of neurogenesis. Nature. 479:7371:61-U84. DOI:10.1038/nature1038

Simon, M.A.; S. J. Fusillo; K. Colman, et al. 2010. Motor patterns associated with crawling in a soft-bodied arthropod. Journal of Experimental Biology. 213(13):2302-2309. DOI:10.1242/jeb.039206

Ugolini, G. 2010. Advances in viral transneuronal tracing. 7^th FENS Meeting on Neuroanatomical Tracing and Systems. Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 3, 2010. Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 194(1):2-20. DOI:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2009.12.001

Recommended Readings: Tiago Branco M.D, Ph.D. Monday, March 12, 2012

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Carol Feltes

Reply

Dendritic Computation in Cortical Pyramidal Cells

Tiago Branco, M.D, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research

University College London

4:00 p.m. Monday, March 12, 2012 refreshments 3:45 p.m.

Caspary Auditorium

Recommended Readings:

Takahashi N: Kitamura K; Matsuo N; et al. 2012. Locally synchronized synaptic inputs. Science. 335(6066):353-356. DOI:10.1126/science.1210362

George GA; Lyons-Warren AM; Ma XF; et al. 2011. A diversity of synaptic filters are created by temporal summation of excitation and inhibition. Journal of Neuroscience. 31(41):14721-14734. DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1424-11.2011

Branco T. 2011. The language of dendrites. Science. 334(6056):615-616. DOI: 10.1126/science.1215079

Branco T: Haeusser M. 2011. Synaptic integration gradients in single cortical pyramidal sequences in cortical neurons. Neuron. 69(5):885-895. DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2011.02.006

Branco T: Clark BA; Haeusser M. 2010. Dendritic discrimination of temporal input sequences in cortical neurons. Science. 329(5999):1671-1675. DOI:10:1126/science.1189664

Branco T; Haeusser M. 2010. The single dendritic branch as a fundamental functional unit in the nervous system. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. 20(4):494-502. DOI:10.1016/j.conb.2010.07.009

Branco T; Staras K; Darcy KJ.; et al. 2008. Local dendritic activity sets release probability at hippocampal synapses. Neuron. 59(3):475-485. DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2008.07.006.

Recommended Readings: Jesse Goldberg M.D., Ph.D. February 15, 2012

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Carol Feltes

Reply

Monday lecture Series

Neural Circuits UnderlyinG Motor Exploration During Learning

Jesse Goldberg

Postdoctoral Fellow

McGovern Institute for Brain Research

Massachusetts General Hospital

Wednesday, February 15 2012

4 p.m. , Caspary Auditorium. Refreshments 3:45 p.m.

Recommended Readings:

Bouvrie J; Slotine JJ. 2011. Synchronization and redundancy: Implications for robustness of neural learning and decision making. Neural Computation. 23(11):2915-2941.

Fee M; Goldberg JH. 2011. A hypothesis for basal ganglia-dependent reinforcement learning in the songbird. Neuroscience. 198 (S1):152-170. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.09.069

Shmuelof L; Krakauer JW. 2011. Are we ready for a natural history of motor learning? Neuron. 72(3):469-476.

Goldberg JJ; Fee MS. 2011. Vocal babbling in songbirds requires the basal ganglia-recipient motor thalamus but not the basal ganglia. Journal of Neurophysiology. 105(6):2729-2739.

Oelveczky BP; Otchy TM; Goldberg JH; et al. 2011. Changes in the neural control of a complex motor sequence during learning. Journal of Neurophysiology. 106(1):386-397. DOI: 10.1152/jn.00018.2011

Thompson JA; Basista MJ; We W; et al. 2011. Dual Pre-motor contribution to songbird syllable variation. Journal of Neuroscience. 31(1):322-330. DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5967-09.2011

Goldberg JH; Adler A; Bergman H; et al. 2010. Singing-related neural activity distinguishes two putative pallidal cell types in the songbird basal ganglia: Comparison to the primate internal and external pallidal segments. Journal of Neuroscience. 30(20):7088-7098. DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0168-10.2010

New Study Sheds Light On Critical Nature Of DNA Methylation On Brain Development

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Carol Feltes

Reply

For the first time, scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain’s executive hub. Among key findings of the study by National Institutes of Health scientists: genes implicated in schizophrenia and autism turn out to be members of a select club of genes in which regulatory activity peaks during an environmentally-sensitive critical period in development. The mechanism, called DNA methylation, abruptly switches from off to on within the human brain’s prefrontal cortex during this pivotal transition from fetal to postnatal life. As methylation increases, gene expression slows down after birth.

Read about it in NIH News.

Recommended Readings: Brenda Bloodgood PH.D. Monday January 23, 2012

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Carol Feltes

Reply

Monday Lecture Series

Activity-Dependent Transcriptional regulation of Inhibitory Synapses

Brenda L. Bloodgood, Ph.D.

Post Doctoral Fellow

Harvard Medical School / Children’s Hospital

Monday January 23, 2012

4 p.m. , Caspary Auditorium. Refreshments 3:45 p.m.

Recommended Readings:

Leslie, J.H; and Nedivi, E. 2011. Activity-regulated genes as mediators of neural plasticity. Progress in Neurobiology. 94(3):223-237.

Ploski, J.E; Monsey, M.S; Tam, N; et al. 2011. The Neuronal PAS Domain Protein 4(Npas4) is required for new and reactgivated fear memories. PLOS One. 6(8):e23760.

Lyons, M.R; and West, A.E. 2011. Mechanisms of specificity in neuronal activity-regulated gene transcription. Progress in Neurobiology. 94(3)259-295.

Prentice, L.M; de Tassigny, X; McKinney, S; et al. 2011. The testosterone-dependent and independent transcriptional networks in the hypothalamus of Gpr54 and Kiss1 knockout male mice are not fully equivalent. BMC Genomics. 12:article 209.

Loebrich, S; Nedivi, E. 2011. The function of activity-regulated genes in the nervous system. Physiological Reviews. 89(4):1079-1103.

Lin, Y.X; Bloodgood, B.L; Hauser, J.L; et al. 2008. Activity-dependent regulation of inhibitory synapse development by Npas4. Nature. 455(7217):1198-U23.

Bloodgood, B.L; Sabatini, B. L. 2007. Regulation of synaptic signaling by postsynaptic, non-glutamate receptor ion channels. Journal of Physiology-London. 586(6):1475-1480.

A Fresh Look At The Validity Of Current Understanding Of Alzheimer’s Disease

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Carol Feltes

Reply

For decades the amyloid hypothesis has dominated the research field in Alzheimer’s disease. The theory describes how an increase in secreted beta-amyloid peptides leads to the formation of plaques, toxic clusters of damaged proteins between cells, which eventually result in neurodegeneration. Scientists at Lund University, Sweden, have now presented a study that turns this premise on its head. The research group’s data offers an opposite hypothesis, suggesting that it is in fact the neurons’ inability to secrete beta-amyloid that is at the heart of pathogenesis in Alzheimer’s disease. Read the report of their work in Journal of Neuroscience.

New Drug Target for Alzheimer’s, Stroke Discovered

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Carol Feltes

Reply

A tiny piece of a critical receptor that fuels the brain and without which sentient beings cannot live has been discovered by University at Buffalo scientists as a promising new drug target for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

The research on the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor was being published online in Nature Communications.