2017
All events, 2017
From Single Nuclei RNA-Sequencing to Dynamics of Neuronal Regeneration
Lecture
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Hour: 11:00
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
From Single Nuclei RNA-Sequencing to Dynamics of Neuronal Regeneration
Dr. Naomi Habib
Postdoctoral Fellow, Feng Zhang and Aviv Regev Labs
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and McGovern Institute for
Brain Research at MIT
Throughout adult life, adult neuronal stem cells (NSCs) continuously generate neurons in discrete brain regions. I am interested in harnessing this natural regenerative process for repairing the diseased and aging brain. To effectively use this regenerative capacity in a clinical setting requires first an advanced understanding of NSCs, adult neurogenesis and neuronal regeneration during neurodegenerative diseases and aging. Study of these areas, however, is challenging, as it requires profiling rare continuous processes in the adult brain. To this end, I developed sNuc-Seq, a method for profiling RNA in complex tissues with single nuclei resolution by RNA-sequencing, and Div-Seq, for profiling RNA in individual dividing cells. I applied sNuc-Seq to study the adult hippocampus brain region, revealing new cell-type specific and spatial expression patterns. I then applied Div-Seq to track transcriptional dynamics of newborn neurons within the adult hippocampal neurogenic region and to identify and profile rare newborn GABAergic neurons in the adult spinal cord. I am currently developing follow-up technologies to sNuc-Seq and applying them to study the cross-talk between neurons, NSCs, glia and immune cells during neurodegenerative diseases and its role in inhibiting or promoting regeneration. I will continue to work towards advancing our ability to mitigate and even reverse neurodegenerative disease and age-related pathologies. Incorporating in my work techniques from molecular neuroscience, single cell genomics, genome engineering and computational biology.
Reverse-engineering the sense of touch in mice
Lecture
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Hour: 12:00
Location:
Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical Research
Reverse-engineering the sense of touch in mice
Prof. Samuel Andrew Hires
Dept of Neurobiology,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Touch is vital for many human and animal behaviors, but our understanding of it lags other senses. We have deployed a suite of techniques to dissect mechanisms of touch perception in the mouse, from the biophysics of whisker bending to optogenetic manipulation of specific cortical circuits. I will present our recent work exploring how circuits of primary somatosensory cortex process sensory and motor signals to create a neural representation of tactile features during whisker-based object exploration.
Reverse-engineering the sense of touch in mice
Lecture
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Reverse-engineering the sense of touch in mice
Prof. Samuel Andrew Hires
Dept of Neurobiology
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Touch is vital for many human and animal behaviors, but our understanding of it lags other senses. We have deployed a suite of techniques to dissect mechanisms of touch perception in the mouse, from the biophysics of whisker bending to optogenetic manipulation of specific cortical circuits. I will present our recent work exploring how circuits of primary somatosensory cortex process sensory and motor signals to create a neural representation of tactile features during whisker-based object exploration.
Towards a multi-scale quantification of the structure and function of the neurovascular interface
Lecture
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Towards a multi-scale quantification of the structure and function of the neurovascular interface
Dr. Pablo Blinder
Dept of Neurobiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University
Abstract: Proper brain function depends on the intricate interface between neurons, astrocytes and the nearby blood vessels that supply then with oxygen and nutrients. Coupling between neuronal activity and local vascular responses represent both a fundamental physiological process and also underpins the mechanism behind BOLD-imaging techniques. We aim to systematically map the structure-function organization of this interface and use this knowledge as morphological framework to interpret neurovascular dynamics. At the system level, we find a puzzling lack of spatial organization between neuronal units of the lemniscal pathway and the surrounding vasculature. I will share these findings and describe our current efforts to map the neuro-vascular microcircuitry. To understand whether neurons wire with some preference into the vasculature, we started to simulate the expected “random" statistics for this morphological interface. In addition, I will share preliminary data showing a differential neuronal response to surgically induced hypo- and hyper-perfusion conditions; suggest a potential modulation role of systemic pressure on neuronal activity.
Coding with Correlated Neurons
Lecture
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Coding with Correlated Neurons
Dr. Rava da Silveira
École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
Arguably, quantitative neuroscience was born when scientists started to correlate the activity of a neuron with sensory stimuli. But complex stimuli, such as natural ones, are encoded in the activity of
entire populations of neurons. What is the grammar of this code? Specifically, how are the correlations among neurons and their physiological diversity involved in this code? In this talk, I will discuss analyses of the output of populations of identified and simultaneously recorded visual neurons. In these populations, and against the textbook picture of neural population coding, correlations in the spiking variability enhance the coding performance. This unexpected phenomenon relies upon a particular structure of the correlations observed in data and, surprisingly, yields a strong effect even in very small populations of neurons. I will, further, explain how the favorable structure of correlations can emerge from simple circuit features. Finally, if time allows, I will present more general theoretical extensions in which, with the use of simple models, one can illustrate the massive influence that correlations and physiological diversity can have on the precision and capacity of the neural code.
Pages
2017
All events, 2017
Reverse-engineering the sense of touch in mice
Lecture
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Hour: 12:00
Location:
Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical Research
Reverse-engineering the sense of touch in mice
Prof. Samuel Andrew Hires
Dept of Neurobiology,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Touch is vital for many human and animal behaviors, but our understanding of it lags other senses. We have deployed a suite of techniques to dissect mechanisms of touch perception in the mouse, from the biophysics of whisker bending to optogenetic manipulation of specific cortical circuits. I will present our recent work exploring how circuits of primary somatosensory cortex process sensory and motor signals to create a neural representation of tactile features during whisker-based object exploration.
Reverse-engineering the sense of touch in mice
Lecture
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Reverse-engineering the sense of touch in mice
Prof. Samuel Andrew Hires
Dept of Neurobiology
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Touch is vital for many human and animal behaviors, but our understanding of it lags other senses. We have deployed a suite of techniques to dissect mechanisms of touch perception in the mouse, from the biophysics of whisker bending to optogenetic manipulation of specific cortical circuits. I will present our recent work exploring how circuits of primary somatosensory cortex process sensory and motor signals to create a neural representation of tactile features during whisker-based object exploration.
Towards a multi-scale quantification of the structure and function of the neurovascular interface
Lecture
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Towards a multi-scale quantification of the structure and function of the neurovascular interface
Dr. Pablo Blinder
Dept of Neurobiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University
Abstract: Proper brain function depends on the intricate interface between neurons, astrocytes and the nearby blood vessels that supply then with oxygen and nutrients. Coupling between neuronal activity and local vascular responses represent both a fundamental physiological process and also underpins the mechanism behind BOLD-imaging techniques. We aim to systematically map the structure-function organization of this interface and use this knowledge as morphological framework to interpret neurovascular dynamics. At the system level, we find a puzzling lack of spatial organization between neuronal units of the lemniscal pathway and the surrounding vasculature. I will share these findings and describe our current efforts to map the neuro-vascular microcircuitry. To understand whether neurons wire with some preference into the vasculature, we started to simulate the expected “random" statistics for this morphological interface. In addition, I will share preliminary data showing a differential neuronal response to surgically induced hypo- and hyper-perfusion conditions; suggest a potential modulation role of systemic pressure on neuronal activity.
Coding with Correlated Neurons
Lecture
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Coding with Correlated Neurons
Dr. Rava da Silveira
École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
Arguably, quantitative neuroscience was born when scientists started to correlate the activity of a neuron with sensory stimuli. But complex stimuli, such as natural ones, are encoded in the activity of
entire populations of neurons. What is the grammar of this code? Specifically, how are the correlations among neurons and their physiological diversity involved in this code? In this talk, I will discuss analyses of the output of populations of identified and simultaneously recorded visual neurons. In these populations, and against the textbook picture of neural population coding, correlations in the spiking variability enhance the coding performance. This unexpected phenomenon relies upon a particular structure of the correlations observed in data and, surprisingly, yields a strong effect even in very small populations of neurons. I will, further, explain how the favorable structure of correlations can emerge from simple circuit features. Finally, if time allows, I will present more general theoretical extensions in which, with the use of simple models, one can illustrate the massive influence that correlations and physiological diversity can have on the precision and capacity of the neural code.
Pages
2017
All events, 2017
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