All events, 2011

Neurodegenerative diseases, stem cells and inflammation-new prospects for therapy

Conference
Date:
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Hour:
Location:
Dolfi and Lola Ebner Auditorium

Bio-inspired Intracellular recordings and stimulation of neurons by extracellular multisite noninvasive gold mushroom shaped multi electrode array

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
The David Lopatie Hall of Graduate Studies
Prof. Micha E. Spira
|
The Life Sciences Institute and the NanoCenter The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The development of Brain Machine Interface (BMI) technologies is driven by the belief that when successful such interfaces could be applied to replace damaged sensory organs (as the retina), replace motor part (limbs), link disrupted neuronal networks (injured spinal cord), generate hybrid neuro-electronic computers and others. Despite decades of research and development, contemporary approaches fail to provide satisfying scientific concepts and technological solutions to generate efficient and durable interfaces between neurons and electronic devices. In the presentation I will describe a novel biologically inspired approach to enable the generation of efficient bidirectional electrical coupling between cultured neurons and extracellular multi-microelectrode array. The cell biological, molecular and physical principals underlying the novel neuroelectronic configuration will be explained. The prospective of using our approach for long-term, non-invasive, multisite intracellular recording and stimulation for brain research and clinical BMI applications will be discussed.

Going into the Unknown, Together: Science and Improvisation Theatre

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Hour: 14:30
Location:
Dolfi and Lola Ebner Auditorium
Prof. Uri Alon
|
Dept of Molecular Cell Biology, WIS

Clinical Brain Profiling and Neuroscientific Psychiatry

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Dr. Avi Peled,M.D.
|
Psychiatry, Shaar Menashe Hospital

Even though everyone talks about the importance of neuroscience to psychiatry, in reality the common psychiatric clinical work is unrelated to neuroscience. The diagnostic taxonomy used by psychiatrists (the DSM) is not related to the brain, and none of the advanced insights gained from neuroscience has reached all the way to everyday clinical work of the psychiatrist. Clinical Brain Profiling (CBP) is a novel and unique approach for conceptualizing mental disorders designed to overcome this problem. Using integrated knowledge from complex-system-theories, neural-computation, neuroscience, psychology, neurology and psychiatry, it is possible to generate a testable-prediction conceptual framework that re-conceptualizes mental disorders as brain disorders. In my talk I will 1) explain the theoretical background for a novel diagnostic approach to mental disorders, and 2) I will show how it is relevant to the clinician at the forefront of the clinical setting.

The Effects of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Gamma Oscillations, Working Memory Performance and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Prof. Jeff Daskalakis
|
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health University of Toronto

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been shown to induce neurophysiological changes in the cortex that can be recorded through electroencephalography. Oscillatory activity in the gamma (30-50 Hz) frequency range represents a neurophysiological process that has been shown to be altered during working memory, a cognitive process that is mediated by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). We examined the effect of 20 Hz rTMS applied bilaterally to the DLPFC on gamma oscillations elicited during the N-back working memory task in 22 healthy subjects and 24 patients with schizophrenia. Patients with SCZ then continued to receive rTMS (active or sham) for an additional 4 weeks (i.e., 20 treatments in total). Compared to sham rTMS, active rTMS produced a significant increase in gamma oscillations in healthy subjects that was most pronounced in the 3-back condition, the condition associated with greatest cognitive demand. In patients with schizophrenia, by contrast, active rTMS reduced gamma oscillations compared to sham. Neither group demonstrated significant changes in other frequency ranges, suggesting that rTMS selectively modulates only gamma oscillations. In addition, after an additional 4 weeks of active rTMS evidence suggests a potentiation of N-back performance compared to sham but no significant changes in negative symptoms. These findings suggest that patients with schizophrenia demonstrate altered gamma modulation which may be normalized in response to rTMS and over time translate into improved cognitive performance. These findings may also provide important insights into the mechanisms that lead to enhanced cognitive performance.

Mitochondrial amyloid and its consequences in Alzheimer's Disease

Lecture
Date:
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Prof. Frank Gunn-Moore
|
School of Biology University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland UK

Metabolism and the Metabolic Disorder

Conference
Date:
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Hour:
Location:
Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical Research

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Individualized treatment on multiple sclerosis

Lecture
Date:
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Jacob Ziskind Building
Prof. Giancarlo Comi
|
Department of Neurology Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and Scientific Institute, Milan

New vistas on the role of the rodent dopaminergic system in learning and memory

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Jacob Ziskind Building
Prof. Jean-Marc Fellous
|
University of Arizona, Tucson

Computational and experimental studies of learning and memory have traditionally focused on the role of cognitive brain areas such as the cortex and hippocampus. This work has provided invaluable insights in the ways items are learned, stored and consolidated using a variety of neural mechanisms from molecular to network levels. Relatively little has however been done on understanding how and why some items are selected to be memorized while others are not. I will present a set of experimental results in the rodent showing that the dopaminergic neurons of the rodent ventral tegmental area are actively involved in the acquisition and consolidation of positively and negatively valued memories. The experiments will include optimal spatial navigation, memory reactivation and a rodent model of post-traumatic stress disorder. This ongoing work suggests that neuromodulatory centers may have a much more active and selective role in learning and memory than previously thought.

Re-thinking the functional organization of human high-level visual cortex

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Jacob Ziskind Building
Prof. Kalanit Grill-Spector
|
Dept of Psychology & Neurosciences Institute Stanford University

A fundamental question in systems neuroscience is: What are the organization principles of human visual cortex? Visual cortex originates in primary visual cortex and extends through a hierarchy of early, intermediate, and high-level visual regions separated across two processing streams (dorsal and ventral). While much is known about the organization of early visual cortex, much less is known about the organization of high-level visual regions in the ventral stream, which are thought to be involved in visual recognition. Current theories suggest functional distinctions between early and high-level regions in the ventral processing stream: early and intermediate visual regions contain a systematic representation of the visual field across a series of multiple maps (Wandell and Winawer, 2011), whereas higher-level regions are thought to be specialized for processing specific types of stimuli such as objects, faces, body parts, words, and places (Kanwisher, 2010). Several alternative theories suggest other principles for the organization of the ventral stream, including expertise (Tarr and Gauthier, 2000), eccentricity biases (Malach et al., 2002), or distributed representations (Haxby et al., 2001; Kriegeskorte et al., 2008). Nevertheless, two notions are common to these theories. First, it is widely accepted that different rules underlie the functional organization of high-level and early visual cortex. Second, the profile of activations in high-level visual cortex is thought to be more variable across individuals compared to early visual cortex. Contrary to the prevailing view, we propose common organization principles throughout early and high-level visual cortex, where functional regions have consistent anatomical locations and preserved spatial relationships to neighboring regions as well as retinotopic maps. Employing these principles enables the first framework for consistent parcellation of high-level visual regions, which can also be applied to other sensory and nonsensory cortical systems.

Pages

All events, 2011

Bio-inspired Intracellular recordings and stimulation of neurons by extracellular multisite noninvasive gold mushroom shaped multi electrode array

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
The David Lopatie Hall of Graduate Studies
Prof. Micha E. Spira
|
The Life Sciences Institute and the NanoCenter The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The development of Brain Machine Interface (BMI) technologies is driven by the belief that when successful such interfaces could be applied to replace damaged sensory organs (as the retina), replace motor part (limbs), link disrupted neuronal networks (injured spinal cord), generate hybrid neuro-electronic computers and others. Despite decades of research and development, contemporary approaches fail to provide satisfying scientific concepts and technological solutions to generate efficient and durable interfaces between neurons and electronic devices. In the presentation I will describe a novel biologically inspired approach to enable the generation of efficient bidirectional electrical coupling between cultured neurons and extracellular multi-microelectrode array. The cell biological, molecular and physical principals underlying the novel neuroelectronic configuration will be explained. The prospective of using our approach for long-term, non-invasive, multisite intracellular recording and stimulation for brain research and clinical BMI applications will be discussed.

Going into the Unknown, Together: Science and Improvisation Theatre

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Hour: 14:30
Location:
Dolfi and Lola Ebner Auditorium
Prof. Uri Alon
|
Dept of Molecular Cell Biology, WIS

Clinical Brain Profiling and Neuroscientific Psychiatry

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Dr. Avi Peled,M.D.
|
Psychiatry, Shaar Menashe Hospital

Even though everyone talks about the importance of neuroscience to psychiatry, in reality the common psychiatric clinical work is unrelated to neuroscience. The diagnostic taxonomy used by psychiatrists (the DSM) is not related to the brain, and none of the advanced insights gained from neuroscience has reached all the way to everyday clinical work of the psychiatrist. Clinical Brain Profiling (CBP) is a novel and unique approach for conceptualizing mental disorders designed to overcome this problem. Using integrated knowledge from complex-system-theories, neural-computation, neuroscience, psychology, neurology and psychiatry, it is possible to generate a testable-prediction conceptual framework that re-conceptualizes mental disorders as brain disorders. In my talk I will 1) explain the theoretical background for a novel diagnostic approach to mental disorders, and 2) I will show how it is relevant to the clinician at the forefront of the clinical setting.

The Effects of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Gamma Oscillations, Working Memory Performance and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Prof. Jeff Daskalakis
|
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health University of Toronto

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been shown to induce neurophysiological changes in the cortex that can be recorded through electroencephalography. Oscillatory activity in the gamma (30-50 Hz) frequency range represents a neurophysiological process that has been shown to be altered during working memory, a cognitive process that is mediated by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). We examined the effect of 20 Hz rTMS applied bilaterally to the DLPFC on gamma oscillations elicited during the N-back working memory task in 22 healthy subjects and 24 patients with schizophrenia. Patients with SCZ then continued to receive rTMS (active or sham) for an additional 4 weeks (i.e., 20 treatments in total). Compared to sham rTMS, active rTMS produced a significant increase in gamma oscillations in healthy subjects that was most pronounced in the 3-back condition, the condition associated with greatest cognitive demand. In patients with schizophrenia, by contrast, active rTMS reduced gamma oscillations compared to sham. Neither group demonstrated significant changes in other frequency ranges, suggesting that rTMS selectively modulates only gamma oscillations. In addition, after an additional 4 weeks of active rTMS evidence suggests a potentiation of N-back performance compared to sham but no significant changes in negative symptoms. These findings suggest that patients with schizophrenia demonstrate altered gamma modulation which may be normalized in response to rTMS and over time translate into improved cognitive performance. These findings may also provide important insights into the mechanisms that lead to enhanced cognitive performance.

Mitochondrial amyloid and its consequences in Alzheimer's Disease

Lecture
Date:
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Prof. Frank Gunn-Moore
|
School of Biology University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland UK

Individualized treatment on multiple sclerosis

Lecture
Date:
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Jacob Ziskind Building
Prof. Giancarlo Comi
|
Department of Neurology Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and Scientific Institute, Milan

New vistas on the role of the rodent dopaminergic system in learning and memory

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Jacob Ziskind Building
Prof. Jean-Marc Fellous
|
University of Arizona, Tucson

Computational and experimental studies of learning and memory have traditionally focused on the role of cognitive brain areas such as the cortex and hippocampus. This work has provided invaluable insights in the ways items are learned, stored and consolidated using a variety of neural mechanisms from molecular to network levels. Relatively little has however been done on understanding how and why some items are selected to be memorized while others are not. I will present a set of experimental results in the rodent showing that the dopaminergic neurons of the rodent ventral tegmental area are actively involved in the acquisition and consolidation of positively and negatively valued memories. The experiments will include optimal spatial navigation, memory reactivation and a rodent model of post-traumatic stress disorder. This ongoing work suggests that neuromodulatory centers may have a much more active and selective role in learning and memory than previously thought.

Re-thinking the functional organization of human high-level visual cortex

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Jacob Ziskind Building
Prof. Kalanit Grill-Spector
|
Dept of Psychology & Neurosciences Institute Stanford University

A fundamental question in systems neuroscience is: What are the organization principles of human visual cortex? Visual cortex originates in primary visual cortex and extends through a hierarchy of early, intermediate, and high-level visual regions separated across two processing streams (dorsal and ventral). While much is known about the organization of early visual cortex, much less is known about the organization of high-level visual regions in the ventral stream, which are thought to be involved in visual recognition. Current theories suggest functional distinctions between early and high-level regions in the ventral processing stream: early and intermediate visual regions contain a systematic representation of the visual field across a series of multiple maps (Wandell and Winawer, 2011), whereas higher-level regions are thought to be specialized for processing specific types of stimuli such as objects, faces, body parts, words, and places (Kanwisher, 2010). Several alternative theories suggest other principles for the organization of the ventral stream, including expertise (Tarr and Gauthier, 2000), eccentricity biases (Malach et al., 2002), or distributed representations (Haxby et al., 2001; Kriegeskorte et al., 2008). Nevertheless, two notions are common to these theories. First, it is widely accepted that different rules underlie the functional organization of high-level and early visual cortex. Second, the profile of activations in high-level visual cortex is thought to be more variable across individuals compared to early visual cortex. Contrary to the prevailing view, we propose common organization principles throughout early and high-level visual cortex, where functional regions have consistent anatomical locations and preserved spatial relationships to neighboring regions as well as retinotopic maps. Employing these principles enables the first framework for consistent parcellation of high-level visual regions, which can also be applied to other sensory and nonsensory cortical systems.

Painting and the wisdom of the eye: PICTORIAL SPACE AND PERCEPTION

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Hour: 14:00
Location:
Dolfi and Lola Ebner Auditorium
Shalom Flash
|
Painter and Art Teacher at HIT

Non linear dendritic processing in neocortical neurons in-vitro and in-vivo

Lecture
Date:
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Jacob Ziskind Building
Prof. Jackie Schiller
|
Dept of Physiology Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine Technion, Haifa

In my talk I will present a generalized view of dendritic function in neocortical pyramidal neurons summarizing a decade of research. Later I will present two yet unpublished works. The first will describe dendritic integration in layer 4 spiny stellate neurons and the role of dendritic spikes in-vivo. The second work will present coding of texture in layer 2-3 neurons in the rat barrel cortex using two photon imaging methods.

Pages

All events, 2011

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All events, 2011

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