TopicNeuroscience
Content Overview
90Total items
50Seminars
40ePosters

Latest

SeminarNeuroscience

Convergent large-scale network and local vulnerabilities underlie brain atrophy across Parkinson’s disease stages

Andrew Vo
Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University
Nov 6, 2025
SeminarNeuroscience

The tubulin code in neuron health and disease : focus on detyrosination

Marie-Jo Moutin
Grenoble Institute Neurosciences, Univ Grenoble Alpes, Inserm U1216, CNRS
Oct 10, 2025
SeminarNeuroscience

Cellular Crosstalk in Brain Development, Evolution and Disease

Silvia Cappello
Molecular Physiology of Neurogenesis at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Oct 2, 2025

Cellular crosstalk is an essential process during brain development and is influenced by numerous factors, including cell morphology, adhesion, the local extracellular matrix and secreted vesicles. Inspired by mutations associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, we focus on understanding the role of extracellular mechanisms essential for the proper development of the human brain. Therefore, we combine 2D and 3D in vitro human models to better understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in progenitor proliferation and fate, migration and maturation of excitatory and inhibitory neurons during human brain development and tackle the causes of neurodevelopmental disorders.

SeminarNeuroscience

Cause & Consequences of neuronal Tau protein ‘activation’

Susanne Wegmann
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Berlin
Jul 17, 2025
SeminarNeuroscience

Astrocytes release glutamate by regulated exocytosis in health and disease

Vladimir Parpura
Distinguished Professor Zhejiang Chinese Medical University and Director of the International Translational Neuroscience Research Institute, Hangzhou, P.R. China
Jun 5, 2025

Astrocytes release glutamate by regulated exocytosis in health and disease Vladimir Parpura, International Translational Neuroscience Research Institute, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, P.R. China Parpura will present you with the evidence that astrocytes, a subtype of glial cells in the brain, can exocytotically release the neurotransmitter glutamate and how this release is regulated. Spatiotemporal characteristic of vesicular fusion that underlie glutamate release in astrocytes will be discussed. He will also present data on a translational project in which this release pathway can be targeted for the treatment of glioblastoma, the deadliest brain cancer.

SeminarNeuroscience

Expanding mechanisms and therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative disease

Aaron D. Gitler
Department of Genetics, Stanford University
Jun 5, 2025

A hallmark pathological feature of the neurodegenerative diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the depletion of RNA-binding protein TDP-43 from the nucleus of neurons in the brain and spinal cord. A major function of TDP-43 is as a repressor of cryptic exon inclusion during RNA splicing. By re-analyzing RNA-sequencing datasets from human FTD/ALS brains, we discovered dozens of novel cryptic splicing events in important neuronal genes. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in UNC13A are among the strongest hits associated with FTD and ALS in human genome-wide association studies, but how those variants increase risk for disease is unknown. We discovered that TDP-43 represses a cryptic exon-splicing event in UNC13A. Loss of TDP-43 from the nucleus in human brain, neuronal cell lines and motor neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells resulted in the inclusion of a cryptic exon in UNC13A mRNA and reduced UNC13A protein expression. The top variants associated with FTD or ALS risk in humans are located in the intron harboring the cryptic exon, and we show that they increase UNC13A cryptic exon splicing in the face of TDP-43 dysfunction. Together, our data provide a direct functional link between one of the strongest genetic risk factors for FTD and ALS (UNC13A genetic variants), and loss of TDP-43 function. Recent analyses have revealed even further changes in TDP-43 target genes, including widespread changes in alternative polyadenylation, impacting expression of disease-relevant genes (e.g., ELP1, NEFL, and TMEM106B) and providing evidence that alternative polyadenylation is a new facet of TDP-43 pathology.

SeminarNeuroscience

The cellular phase of Alzheimer’s Disease and the path towards therapies

Bart De Strooper
VIB @ University of Leuven / UKDRI @ University College London
May 16, 2025
SeminarNeuroscience

Unlocking the Secrets of Microglia in Neurodegenerative diseases: Mechanisms of resilience to AD pathologies

Ghazaleh Eskandari-Sedighi
UC Irvince
May 1, 2025
SeminarNeuroscience

Dark Matter in the Locus coeruleus - Neuromelanin in Health and Disease

Matthias Prigge
Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, University of Magdeburg, Germany
Apr 10, 2025
SeminarNeuroscienceRecording

An inconvenient truth: pathophysiological remodeling of the inner retina in photoreceptor degeneration

Michael Telias
University of Rochester
Apr 8, 2025

Photoreceptor loss is the primary cause behind vision impairment and blindness in diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. However, the death of rods and cones allows retinoids to permeate the inner retina, causing retinal ganglion cells to become spontaneously hyperactive, severely reducing the signal-to-noise ratio, and creating interference in the communication between the surviving retina and the brain. Treatments aimed at blocking or reducing hyperactivity improve vision initiated from surviving photoreceptors and could enhance the signal fidelity generated by vision restoration methodologies.

SeminarNeuroscience

Impact of High Fat Diet on Central Cardiac Circuits: When The Wanderer is Lost

Carie Boychuk
University of Missouri
Mar 20, 2025

Cardiac vagal motor drive originates in the brainstem's cardiac vagal motor neurons (CVNs). Despite well-established cardioinhibitory functions in health, our understanding of CVNs in disease is limited. There is a clear connection of cardiovascular regulation with metabolic and energy expenditure systems. Using high fat diet as a model, this talk will explore how metabolic dysfunction impacts the regulation of cardiac tissue through robust inhibition of CVNs. Specifically, it will present an often overlooked modality of inhibition, tonic gamma-aminobuytric acid (GABA) A-type neurotransmission using an array of techniques from single cell patch clamp electrophysiology to transgenic in vivo whole animal physiology. It also will highlight a unique interaction with the delta isoform of protein kinase C to facilitate GABA A-type receptor expression.

SeminarNeuroscience

Genetic Analysis of Alzheimer's disease from mechanism to therapies (with some analogies to other diseases)

John Hardy
University College London
Mar 11, 2025
SeminarNeuroscience

Constructing and deconstructing the human nervous system to study development and disease

Sergiu Pasca
Stanford University
Mar 10, 2025
SeminarNeuroscience

Pharmacological exploitation of neurotrophins and their receptors to develop novel therapeutic approaches against neurodegenerative diseases and brain trauma

Ioannis Charalampopoulos
Professor of Pharmacology, Medical School, University of Crete & Affiliated Researcher, Institute of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology (IMBB), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH)
Mar 7, 2025

Neurotrophins (NGF, BDNF, NT-3) are endogenous growth factors that exert neuroprotective effects by preventing neuronal death and promoting neurogenesis. They act by binding to their respective high-affinity, pro-survival receptors TrkA, TrkB or TrkC, as well as to p75NTR death receptor. While these molecules have been shown to significantly slow or prevent neurodegeneration, their reduced bioavailability and inability to penetrate the blood-brain-barrier limit their use as potential therapeutics. To bypass these limitations, our research team has developed and patented small-sized, lipophilic compounds which selectively resemble neurotrophins’ effects, presenting preferable pharmacological properties and promoting neuroprotection and repair against neurodegeneration. In addition, the combination of these molecules with 3D cultured human neuronal cells, and their targeted delivery in the brain ventricles through soft robotic systems, could offer novel therapeutic approaches against neurodegenerative diseases and brain trauma.

SeminarNeuroscience

The synaptic functions of Alpha Synuclein and Lrrk2

Subhojit Roy, MD, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Feb 18, 2025

Alpha synuclein and Lrrk2 are key players in Parkinson's disease and related disorders, but their normal role has been confusing and controversial. Data from acute gene-editing based knockdown, followed by functional assays, will be presented.

SeminarNeuroscience

Defining Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Neurodegenerative Diseases

Celeste Karch, PhD
Washington University School of Medicine
Feb 4, 2025
SeminarNeuroscience

Genetic and epigenetic underpinnings of neurodegenerative disorders

Rudolf Jaenisch
MIT Department of Biology
Dec 11, 2024

Pluripotent cells, including embryonic stem (ES) and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, are used to investigate the genetic and epigenetic underpinnings of human diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, autism, and cancer. Mechanisms of somatic cell reprogramming to an embryonic pluripotent state are explored, utilizing patient-specific pluripotent cells to model and analyze neurodegenerative diseases.

SeminarNeuroscience

Rett syndrome, MECP2 and therapeutic strategies

Rudolf Jaenisch
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Biology, MIT, Cambridge, USA
Dec 11, 2024

The development of the iPS cell technology has revolutionized our ability to study development and diseases in defined in vitro cell culture systems. The talk will focus on Rett Syndrome and discuss two topics: (i) the use of gene editing as an approach to therapy and (ii) the role of MECP2 in gene expression (i) The mutation of the X-linked MECP2 gene is causative for the disease. In a female patient, every cell has a wt copy that is, however, in 50% of the cells located on the inactive X chromosome. We have used epigenetic gene editing tools to activate the wt MECP2 allele on the inactive X chromosome. (ii) MECP2 is thought to act as repressor of gene expression. I will present data which show that MECP2 binds to Pol II and acts as an activator for thousands of genes. The target genes are significantly enriched for Autism related genes. Our data challenge the established model of MECP2’s role in gene expression and suggest novel therapeutic approaches.

SeminarNeuroscience

SWEBAGS conference 2024: Shared network mechanisms of dopamine and deep brain stimulation for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease: From modulation of oscillatory cortex – basal ganglia communication to intelligent clinical brain computer interfaces

Wolf-Julian Neumann
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Dec 5, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

Brain-on-a-Chip: Advanced In Vitro Platforms for Drug Screening and Disease Modeling

Pediaditakis Iosif (Sifis)
Phragma Therapeutics
Nov 21, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

Virtual and experimental approaches to the pathogenicity of SynGAP1 missense mutations

Michael Courtney & Pekka Postila
University of Turku
Nov 21, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

Targeting gamma oscillations to improve cognition

Vikaas Sohal, MD, PhD
UCSF
Oct 30, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

The molecular basis of prion diseases

Aguzzi Adriano
University of Zürich, Institute of Neuropathology
Oct 4, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

How the brain barriers ensure CNSimmune privilege”

Britta Engelhardt
Theodor Kocher Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland
Sep 26, 2024

Britta Engelhard’s research is devoted to understanding thefunction of the different brain barriers in regulating CNS immunesurveillance and how their impaired function contributes toneuroinflammatory diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) orAlzheimer’s disease (AD). Her laboratory combines expertise invascular biology, neuroimmunology and live cell imaging and hasdeveloped sophisticated in vitro and in vivo approaches to studyimmune cell interactions with the brain barriers in health andneuroinflammation.

SeminarNeuroscienceRecording

Prosocial Learning and Motivation across the Lifespan

Patricia Lockwood
University of Birmingham, UK
Sep 10, 2024

2024 BACN Early-Career Prize Lecture Many of our decisions affect other people. Our choices can decelerate climate change, stop the spread of infectious diseases, and directly help or harm others. Prosocial behaviours – decisions that help others – could contribute to reducing the impact of these challenges, yet their computational and neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. I will present recent work that examines prosocial motivation, how willing we are to incur costs to help others, prosocial learning, how we learn from the outcomes of our choices when they affect other people, and prosocial preferences, our self-reports of helping others. Throughout the talk, I will outline the possible computational and neural bases of these behaviours, and how they may differ from young adulthood to old age.

SeminarNeuroscience

The cell biology of Parkinson’s disease: a role for primary cilia and synaptic vesicle pleomorphism in dopaminergic neurons

Nisha Mohd Rafiq
Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry (IFIT), Tübingen University
Jul 18, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

SYNGAP1 Natural History Study/ Multidisciplinary Clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado

Megan Abbott, MD
Children's Hospital Colorado
Jul 17, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

Personalized medicine and predictive health and wellness: Adding the chemical component

Anne Andrews
University of California
Jul 9, 2024

Wearable sensors that detect and quantify biomarkers in retrievable biofluids (e.g., interstitial fluid, sweat, tears) provide information on human dynamic physiological and psychological states. This information can transform health and wellness by providing actionable feedback. Due to outdated and insufficiently sensitive technologies, current on-body sensing systems have capabilities limited to pH, and a few high-concentration electrolytes, metabolites, and nutrients. As such, wearable sensing systems cannot detect key low-concentration biomarkers indicative of stress, inflammation, metabolic, and reproductive status.  We are revolutionizing sensing. Our electronic biosensors detect virtually any signaling molecule or metabolite at ultra-low levels. We have monitored serotonin, dopamine, cortisol, phenylalanine, estradiol, progesterone, and glucose in blood, sweat, interstitial fluid, and tears. The sensors are based on modern nanoscale semiconductor transistors that are straightforwardly scalable for manufacturing. We are developing sensors for >40 biomarkers for personalized continuous monitoring (e.g., smartwatch, wearable patch) that will provide feedback for treating chronic health conditions (e.g., perimenopause, stress disorders, phenylketonuria). Moreover, our sensors will enable female fertility monitoring and the adoption of more healthy lifestyles to prevent disease and improve physical and cognitive performance.

SeminarNeuroscience

Beyond the synapse: SYNGAP1 in primary and motile cilia

Helen Willsey, PhD
University of California San Francisco
May 25, 2024
SeminarNeuroscienceRecording

The Roles of Distinct Functions of SynGAP1 in SYNGAP1-Related Disorders

Richard Huganir
Johns Hopkins Medicine
May 15, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

Investigating dynamiCa++l mechanisms underlying cortical development and disease

Georgia Panagiotakos
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
May 8, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

Use of human systems for neuroinflammatory/neurodegenerative diseases

Katia Karalis
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Westchester County, New York, USA
Apr 26, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

Modeling human brain development and disease: the role of primary cilia

Kyrousi Christina
Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Apr 24, 2024

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) impose a global burden, affecting an increasing number of individuals. While some causative genes have been identified, understanding the human-specific mechanisms involved in these disorders remains limited. Traditional gene-driven approaches for modeling brain diseases have failed to capture the diverse and convergent mechanisms at play. Centrosomes and cilia act as intermediaries between environmental and intrinsic signals, regulating cellular behavior. Mutations or dosage variations disrupting their function have been linked to brain formation deficits, highlighting their importance, yet their precise contributions remain largely unknown. Hence, we aim to investigate whether the centrosome/cilia axis is crucial for brain development and serves as a hub for human-specific mechanisms disrupted in NDDs. Towards this direction, we first demonstrated species-specific and cell-type-specific differences in the cilia-genes expression during mouse and human corticogenesis. Then, to dissect their role, we provoked their ectopic overexpression or silencing in the developing mouse cortex or in human brain organoids. Our findings suggest that cilia genes manipulation alters both the numbers and the position of NPCs and neurons in the developing cortex. Interestingly, primary cilium morphology is disrupted, as we find changes in their length, orientation and number that lead to disruption of the apical belt and altered delamination profiles during development. Our results give insight into the role of primary cilia in human cortical development and address fundamental questions regarding the diversity and convergence of gene function in development and disease manifestation. It has the potential to uncover novel pharmacological targets, facilitate personalized medicine, and improve the lives of individuals affected by NDDs through targeted cilia-based therapies.

SeminarNeuroscience

Activity-Dependent Gene Regulation in Health and Disease

Elizabeth Pollina, Eric Nestler, Michelle Monje
Washington University, Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai, Stanford University
Mar 27, 2024

In the last of this year’s Brain Prize webinars, Elizabeth Pollina (Washington University, USA), Eric Nestler (Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai, USA) and Michelle Monje (Stanford University, USA) will present their work on activity-dependent gene regulation in health and disease. Each speaker will present for 25 minutes, and the webinar will conclude with an open discussion. The webinar will be moderated by the winners of the 2023 Brain Prize, Michael Greenberg, Erin Schuman and Christine Holt.

SeminarNeuroscience

Investigating activity-dependent processes during cortical neuronal assembly in development and disease

Simona Lodato
Humanitas University
Mar 20, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

Cortical interneurons from brain development to disease

Denaxa Myrto
Biomedical Sciences Reaserch Center "Alexander Fleming", Athens, Greece
Mar 13, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

Dysfunctional translation in disease

Emily Osterweil, Gary Bassell, Giovanna Mallucci
Harvard Medical School, Emory University, Altos Labs, Cambridge UK
Feb 27, 2024

In the fifth of this year’s Brain Prize webinars, Emily Osterweil (Harvard Medical School, USA), Gary Bassell (Emory University, USA) and Giovanna Mallucci (Altos Labs, UK) will present their work on dysfunctional translation in disease. Each speaker will present for 25 minutes, and the webinar will conclude with an open discussion. The webinar will be moderated by two of the winners of the 2023 Brain Prize, Michael Greenberg and Erin Schuman.

SeminarNeuroscience

Alpha synuclein in parkinson's Disease: From the bedside to the bench and back again

Stefanis Leonidas
Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
Jan 31, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

From rare Genetic cohorts of Parkinsonism to biomarkers and to understanding broader neurodegenerative disease mechanisms

Leonidas Stefanis
University of Athens Medical School, Greece
Jan 25, 2024
SeminarNeuroscience

Astrocyte reprogramming / activation and brain homeostasis

Thomaidou Dimitra
Department of Neurobiology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
Dec 13, 2023

Astrocytes are multifunctional glial cells, implicated in neurogenesis and synaptogenesis, supporting and fine-tuning neuronal activity and maintaining brain homeostasis by controlling blood-brain barrier permeability. During the last years a number of studies have shown that astrocytes can also be converted into neurons if they force-express neurogenic transcription factors or miRNAs. Direct astrocytic reprogramming to induced-neurons (iNs) is a powerful approach for manipulating cell fate, as it takes advantage of the intrinsic neural stem cell (NSC) potential of brain resident reactive astrocytes. To this end, astrocytic cell fate conversion to iNs has been well-established in vitro and in vivo using combinations of transcription factors (TFs) or chemical cocktails. Challenging the expression of lineage-specific TFs is accompanied by changes in the expression of miRNAs, that post-transcriptionally modulate high numbers of neurogenesis-promoting factors and have therefore been introduced, supplementary or alternatively to TFs, to instruct direct neuronal reprogramming. The neurogenic miRNA miR-124 has been employed in direct reprogramming protocols supplementary to neurogenic TFs and other miRNAs to enhance direct neurogenic conversion by suppressing multiple non-neuronal targets. In our group we aimed to investigate whether miR-124 is sufficient to drive direct reprogramming of astrocytes to induced-neurons (iNs) on its own both in vitro and in vivo and elucidate its independent mechanism of reprogramming action. Our in vitro data indicate that miR-124 is a potent driver of the reprogramming switch of astrocytes towards an immature neuronal fate. Elucidation of the molecular pathways being triggered by miR-124 by RNA-seq analysis revealed that miR-124 is sufficient to instruct reprogramming of cortical astrocytes to immature induced-neurons (iNs) in vitro by down-regulating genes with important regulatory roles in astrocytic function. Among these, the RNA binding protein Zfp36l1, implicated in ARE-mediated mRNA decay, was found to be a direct target of miR-124, that be its turn targets neuronal-specific proteins participating in cortical development, which get de-repressed in miR-124-iNs. Furthermore, miR-124 is potent to guide direct neuronal reprogramming of reactive astrocytes to iNs of cortical identity following cortical trauma, a novel finding confirming its robust reprogramming action within the cortical microenvironment under neuroinflammatory conditions. In parallel to their reprogramming properties, astrocytes also participate in the maintenance of blood-brain barrier integrity, which ensures the physiological functioning of the central nervous system and gets affected contributing to the pathology of several neurodegenerative diseases. To study in real time the dynamic physical interactions of astrocytes with brain vasculature under homeostatic and pathological conditions, we performed 2-photon brain intravital imaging in a mouse model of systemic neuroinflammation, known to trigger astrogliosis and microgliosis and to evoke changes in astrocytic contact with brain vasculature. Our in vivo findings indicate that following neuroinflammation the endfeet of activated perivascular astrocytes lose their close proximity and physiological cross-talk with vasculature, however this event is at compensated by the cross-talk of astrocytes with activated microglia, safeguarding blood vessel coverage and maintenance of blood-brain integrity.

SeminarNeuroscience

Connectome-based models of neurodegenerative disease

Jacob Vogel
Lund University
Dec 6, 2023

Neurodegenerative diseases involve accumulation of aberrant proteins in the brain, leading to brain damage and progressive cognitive and behavioral dysfunction. Many gaps exist in our understanding of how these diseases initiate and how they progress through the brain. However, evidence has accumulated supporting the hypothesis that aberrant proteins can be transported using the brain’s intrinsic network architecture — in other words, using the brain’s natural communication pathways. This theory forms the basis of connectome-based computational models, which combine real human data and theoretical disease mechanisms to simulate the progression of neurodegenerative diseases through the brain. In this talk, I will first review work leading to the development of connectome-based models, and work from my lab and others that have used these models to test hypothetical modes of disease progression. Second, I will discuss the future and potential of connectome-based models to achieve clinically useful individual-level predictions, as well as to generate novel biological insights into disease progression. Along the way, I will highlight recent work by my lab and others that is already moving the needle toward these lofty goals.

SeminarNeuroscience

Gut/Body interactions in health and disease

Julia Cordero
University of Glasgow
Nov 21, 2023

The adult intestine is a major barrier epithelium and coordinator of multi-organ functions. Stem cells constantly repair the intestinal epithelium by adjusting their proliferation and differentiation to tissue intrinsic as well as micro- and macro-environmental signals. How these signals integrate to control intestinal and whole-body homeostasis is largely unknown. Addressing this gap in knowledge is central to an improved understanding of intestinal pathophysiology and its systemic consequences. Combining Drosophila and mammalian model systems my laboratory has discovered fundamental mechanisms driving intestinal regeneration and tumourigenesis and outlined complex inter-organ signaling regulating health and disease. During my talk, I will discuss inter-related areas of research from my lab, including:1- Interactions between the intestine and its microenvironment influencing intestinal regeneration and tumourigenesis. 2- Long-range signals from the intestine impacting whole-body in health and disease.

SeminarNeuroscience

Effects of Presenilin1 FAD mutants on brain angiogenic functions and neuroprotection in Alzheimer’s Disease

Georgakopoulos Tassos
Center for Molecular Biology and Genetics of Neurodegeneration, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA
Nov 15, 2023
SeminarNeuroscienceRecording

Circadian modulation by time-restricted feeding rescues brain pathology and improves memory in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease

Daniel S. Whittaker
UCSD
Nov 9, 2023
SeminarNeuroscience

Metabolic Remodelling in the Developing Forebrain in Health and Disease

Gaia Novarino
Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Oct 31, 2023

Little is known about the critical metabolic changes that neural cells have to undergo during development and how temporary shifts in this program can influence brain circuitries and behavior. Motivated by the identification of autism-associated mutations in SLC7A5, a transporter for metabolically essential large neutral amino acids (LNAAs), we utilized metabolomic profiling to investigate the metabolic states of the cerebral cortex across various developmental stages. Our findings reveal significant metabolic restructuring occurring in the forebrain throughout development, with specific groups of metabolites exhibiting stage-specific changes. Through the manipulation of Slc7a5 expression in neural cells, we discovered an interconnected relationship between the metabolism of LNAAs and lipids within the cortex. Neuronal deletion of Slc7a5 influences the postnatal metabolic state, resulting in a shift in lipid metabolism and a cell-type-specific modification in neuronal activity patterns. This ultimately gives rise to enduring circuit dysfunction.

SeminarNeuroscienceRecording

From primate anatomy to human neuroimaging: insights into the circuits underlying psychiatric disease and neuromodulation; Large-scale imaging of neural circuits: towards a microscopic human connectome

Suzanne Haber, PhD & Prof. Anastasia Yendiki, PhD
University of Rochester, USA / Harvard Medical School, USA
Oct 26, 2023

On Thursday, October 26th, we will host Anastasia Yendiki and Suzanne Haber. Anastasia Yendiki, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Radiology at the Harvard Medical School and an Associate Investigator at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Athinoula A. Martinos Center. Suzanne Haber, PhD, is a Professor at the University of Rochester and runs a lab at McLean hospital at Harvard Medical School in Boston. She has received numerous awards for her work on neuroanatomy. Beside her scientific presentation, she will give us a glimpse at the “Person behind the science”. The talks will be followed by a shared discussion. You can register via talks.stimulatingbrains.org to receive the (free) Zoom link!

SeminarNeuroscienceRecording

Neuroinflammation in Epilepsy: what have we learned from human brain tissue specimens ?

Eleonora Aronica
Amsterdam UMC
Oct 25, 2023

Epileptogenesis is a gradual and dynamic process leading to difficult-to-treat seizures. Several cellular, molecular, and pathophysiologic mechanisms, including the activation of inflammatory processes.  The use of human brain tissue represents a crucial strategy to advance our understanding of the underlying neuropathology and the molecular and cellular basis of epilepsy and related cognitive and behavioral comorbidities,  The mounting evidence obtained during the past decade has emphasized the critical role of inflammation  in the pathophysiological processes implicated in a large spectrum of genetic and acquired forms of  focal epilepsies. Dissecting the cellular and molecular mediators of  the pathological immune responses and their convergent and divergent mechanisms, is a major requisite for delineating their role in the establishment of epileptogenic networks. The role of small regulatory molecules involved in the regulation of  specific pro- and anti-inflammatory pathways  and the crosstalk between neuroinflammation and oxidative stress will be addressed.    The observations supporting the activation of both innate and adaptive immune responses in human focal epilepsy will be discussed and elaborated, highlighting specific inflammatory pathways as potential targets for antiepileptic, disease-modifying therapeutic strategies.

SeminarNeuroscience

The role of CNS microglia in health and disease

Kyrargyri Vassiliki
Department of Immunology, Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
Oct 25, 2023

Microglia are the resident CNS macrophages of the brain parenchyma. They have many and opposing roles in health and disease, ranging from inflammatory to anti-inflammatory and protective functions, depending on the developmental stage and the disease context. In Multiple Sclerosis, microglia are involved to important hallmarks of the disease, such as inflammation, demyelination, axonal damage and remyelination, however the exact mechanisms controlling their transformation towards a protective or devastating phenotype during the disease progression remains largely unknown until now. We wish to understand how brain microglia respond to demyelinating insults and how their behaviour changes in recovery. To do so we developed a novel histopathological analysis approach in 3D and a cell-based analysis tool that when applied in the cuprizone model of demyelination revealed region- and disease- dependent changes in microglial dynamics in the brain grey matter during demyelination and remyelination. We now use similar approaches with the aim to unravel sensitive changes in microglial dynamics during neuroinflammation in the EAE model. Furthermore, we employ constitutive knockout and tamoxifen-inducible gene-targeting approaches, immunological techniques, genetics and bioinformatics and currently seek to clarify the specific role of the brain resident microglial NF-κB molecular pathway versus other tissue macrophages in EAE.

SeminarNeuroscience

Spatial and Single Cell Genomics for Next Generation Neuroscience

Evan Macosko
Broad Institute, Cambridge, USA
Oct 12, 2023

The advent of next generation sequencing ushered in a ten-year period of exuberant technology development, enabling the quantification of gene expression and epigenetic features within individual cells, and within intact tissue sections.  In this seminar, I will outline our technological contributions, beginning with the development of Drop-seq, a method for high-throughput single cell analysis, followed by the development of Slide-seq, a technique for measuring genome-wide expression at 10 micron spatial resolution.  Using a combination of these techniques, we recently constructed a comprehensive cell type atlas of the adult mouse brain, positioning cell types within individual brain structures.  I will discuss the major findings from this dataset, including emerging principles of neurotransmission, and the localization of disease gene signatures to specific cell types.  Finally, I will introduce a new spatial technology, Slide-tags, that unifies single cell and spatial genomics into a single, highly scalable assay.

SeminarNeuroscience

How Intermittent Bioenergetic Challenges Enhance Brain and Body Health

Mark Mattson
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Sep 26, 2023

Humans and other animals evolved in habitats fraught with a range of environmental challenges to their bodies and brains. Accordingly, cells and organ systems possess adaptive stress-responsive signaling pathways that enable them to not only withstand environmental challenges, but also to prepare for future challenges and function more efficiently. These phylogenetically conserved processes are the foundation of the hormesis principle in which repeated exposures to low to moderate amounts of an environmental challenge improve cellular and organismal fitness. Here I describe cellular and molecular mechanisms by which cells in the brain and body respond to intermittent fasting and exercise in ways that enhance performance and counteract aging and disease processes. Switching back and forth between adaptive stress response (during fasting and exercise) and growth and plasticity (eating, resting, sleeping) modes enhances the performance and resilience of various organ systems. While pharmacological interventions that engage a particular hormetic mechanism are being developed, it seems unlikely that any will prove superior to fasting and exercise.

ePosterNeuroscience

Graph Signal Processing on MEG for Parkinson's disease

Valter Lundegårdh, Arvind Kumar, Pascal Helson

Bernstein Conference 2024

ePosterNeuroscience

Hippocampal representational drift and the impact of Alzheimer’s disease

Namra Aamir, Alexander Schmidt, Fred Wolf, Kotaro Mizuta, Yasunori Hayashi

Bernstein Conference 2024

ePosterNeuroscience

The vanishing dopamine in Parkinson's disease

Chaitanya Chintaluri & Tim P Vogels

COSYNE 2023

ePosterNeuroscience

Disrupted Egocentric Vector Coding of Environmental Geometry in Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Model

Yoonsoo Yeo, Jeehyun Kwag

COSYNE 2025

ePosterNeuroscience

Sensory stimulation boosts brain dynamics fluidity and memory performance in Alzheimer’s disease mice

Demian Battaglia, Matthieu Aguilera, Samy Castro, Jyotika Bahuguna, Laura Harsan, Chantal Mathis, Romain Goutagny

COSYNE 2025

ePosterNeuroscience

The ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol combination reduces the excessive glutamatergic activity in an animal model of Alzheimer’s disease

Nuria Sánchez Fernández, Laura Gómez-Acero, Anna Castañé, Leticia Campa, Veronica Brito, Silvia Ginés, Francisco Ciruela, Ester Aso
ePosterNeuroscience

The APP A673T variant and the APOE genotype affect astrocyte morphology and cholesterol metabolism in a model of Alzheimer’s disease

Pinja P. Kettunen, Johanna Kuusisto, - Markku Laakso, Jari Koistinaho, Taisia Rolova
ePosterNeuroscience

Abnormal changes in hippocampal synaptic plasticity are accompanied by parvalbumin reductions in the TgF344 rat model for Alzheimer’s disease

Yuhong Sun, Lauren Rimmer, John Gigg, Michael Harte
ePosterNeuroscience

Accelerated cognitive decline in obese mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease is linked to sialic acid-driven immune deregulation

Stefano Suzzi, Tommaso Croese, Adi Ravid, Or Gold, Abbe R. Clark, Sedi Medina, Daniel Kitsberg, Miriam Adam, Katherine A. Vernon, Eva Kohnert, Inbar Shapira, Sergey Malitsky, Maxim Itkin, Sarah P. Colaiuta, Liora Cahalon, Michal Slyper, Anna Greka, Naomi Habib, Michal Schwartz
ePosterNeuroscience

Acute exposure by an intracisternal injection to the Amylin receptor antagonist AC253 improved cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models

Ryoichi Kimura, Mizuki Zayasu, Tomomi Ueda, Masatoshi Saiki, Ryosuke Koike, Koichi Ito, Akio Inoue
ePosterNeuroscience

Adenosine A2A Receptor Antagonists block NMDA Receptor Function in APPSW/Ind mice model of Alzheimer's disease

Gemma Navarro Brugal, Rafael Rivas-Santisteban, Alejandro Lillo, Iu Raïch, Rafael Franco
ePosterNeuroscience

ADNP-SIRT1 new complex regulates histone methylation: Dramatically dysregulated in Alzheimer’s disease

Adva Hadar, Oxana Kapitansky, Maram Ganaiem, Shlomo Sragovich, Alexandra Lobyntseva, Eliezer Giladi, Adva Yeheskel, Aliza Avitan, Gad D. Vatine, David Gurwitz, Yanina Ivashko-Pachima, Illana Gozes
ePosterNeuroscience

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis signatures in patients with Parkinson’s disease, Dementia with Lewy bodies, and Frontotemporal Dementia

Elena P. Moreno-Jiménez, Julia Terreros-Roncal, Miguel Flor-Garcia, Carla B. Rodríguez-Moreno, Alberto Rábano, Maria Llorens-Martín
ePosterNeuroscience

Altered activity-regulated striatal epigenome contributes to egocentric spatial memory deficit in Huntington’s disease mice

Rafael Alcalá Vida, Caroline Lotz, Jonathan Seguin, Charles Decraene, Baptiste Brulé, Ali Awada, Aurélie Bombardier, Brigitte Cosquer, Anne Pereira de Vasconcelos, Emmanuel Brouillet, Jean-Christophe Cassel, Anne-Laurence Boutillier, Karine Merienne
ePosterNeuroscience

Altered Information Flow from Forebrain to Cortex in A Rat Model of Early Alzheimer’s Disease

Mohit H. Adhikari, Monica Van den Berg, Marleen Verhoye
ePosterNeuroscience

Altered parabrachial nucleus nociceptive processing may underlie central neuropathic pain in Parkinson’s disease

Arnaud Pautrat, Racha Al Tannir, Véronique Coizet
ePosterNeuroscience

Altered resting-state functional brain network in Parkinson's disease with major and minor visual hallucination

Yae Ji Kim, Yong Jeong
ePosterNeuroscience

Alzheimer disease: functional characterization of KLVFF activity on native nicotinic receptors

Hanna Trebesova, Guendalina Olivero, Mario Marchi, Massimo Grilli
ePosterNeuroscience

Alzheimer’s disease genetic risk factor APOE4 is associated with attenuated auditory responses

Emma M. Ducos, Felix Schneefeld, Kinga Igloi, Luc Arnal
ePosterNeuroscience

Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis is influenced by selective brain IL-6 overexpression

Carla Canal, Gemma Comes, Kevin Aguilar, Iain L. Campbell, Juan Hidalgo
ePosterNeuroscience

Amyloid beta impairs synaptic plasticity at the hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses in Alzheimer’s disease: a computational modeling study

Justinas Juozas Dainauskas, Michele Migliore, Hélène Marie, Aušra Saudargienė
ePosterNeuroscience

Amyloid-Beta Oligomers increases the amplitude and changes the firing pattern of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents of hippocampal neurons in a model of Alzheimer’s disease

Marcela Cuestas Torres
ePosterNeuroscience

Analysis of Alzheimer’s disease-related synaptic alterations using microfluidic microglia/neuron co-cultures

Dolores Siedlecki-Wullich, Anne-Marie Ayral, Jean-Charles Lambert, Devrim Kilinc
ePosterNeuroscience

Analysis of soluble TREM2 levels in CSF and plasma of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease subjects

Ena Španić, Mirjana Babić Leko, Klara Brgić, Željka Vogrinc, Marina Boban, Fran Borovečki, Nataša Klepac, Goran Šimić
ePosterNeuroscience

Anatomo-radiological correlations in Parkinson's disease animal model

Chirine Katrib, David Devos, Régis Bordet, Charlotte Laloux, Nacim Betrouni
ePosterNeuroscience

Ante-mortem magnetic resonance imaging grey-white matter contrast regional signatures of Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology

Francisco Almeida, Ana Coelho, Miguel Quintas-Neves, Merilee Teylan, Charles N. Mock, Walter A. Kukull, John F. Crary, Tiago Gil Oliveira
ePosterNeuroscience

Anxiety and social-like deficits in Alzheimer’s disease in the TgF344-AD rat

Daniela Cernotova, Anna Horakova, Kristyna Maleninska, Ales Stuchlik, Jan Svoboda
ePosterNeuroscience

Assessing functional networks dynamic through high-density longitudinal EEG recordings in a new mouse model of early Alzheimer’s disease

Matthieu Aguilera, Samy N. Castro, Chantal Mathis, Battaglia Demian, Romain Goutagny
ePosterNeuroscience

Association of metabolites with cognitive decline and lipid pattern in Alzheimer's Disease

Parisa M. Mottaghi, Elaine Holmes, Julian L. Griffin, Paul M. Matthews, Johanna Jackson, Luke Whiley
ePosterNeuroscience

Astrocyte-neuron interplay is critical for Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis and is rescued by TRPA1 channel blockade

Adrien Paumier, Sylvie Boisseau, Jacquier-Sarlin Muriel, Karin Pernet-Gallay, Alain Buisson, Mireille Albrieux
ePosterNeuroscience

Astrocytic Ca2+ signaling in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease

Annamaria Lia, Angela Chiavegato, Miriana Sbrissa, Giorgio Carmignoto, Cristina Fasolato, Micaela Zonta
ePosterNeuroscience

Auditory sensory deprivation induced by noise exposure exacerbates cognitive decline and hippocampal dysfunction in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Fabiola Paciello, Marco Rinaudo, Anna Pisani, Maria Vittoria Podda, Anna Rita Fetoni, Gaetano Paludetti, Claudio Grassi
ePosterNeuroscience

Base editing as a potential therapeutic strategy for motor neuron diseases

Xhuljana Mingaj, Sorana Ciura, Elena Pasho, Panagiotis Antoniou, Pierre Martinucci, Annarita Miccio, Edor Kabashi
ePosterNeuroscience

Behavioral Assessment of the Parkinson’s Disease Mouse Model of Human Tyrosinase Overexpression in the Locus Coeruleus

Andres Jaramillo, Csilla Novák, Frank Angestein, Matthew Betts, Constanze I. Seidenbecher, Matthias Prigge
ePosterNeuroscience

Behavioural and neuropathological characterization of a rat model of resilience in the field of Alzheimer’s Disease

Marianne Léger, Lucas Gephine, Stacy Largillière, Gérald Née, Sophie Corvaisier, Thomas Freret
ePosterNeuroscience

Behind sporadic ALS: a biophysical characterization of motor neurons in health and disease

Martina Bonucci, Guney Akbalik, Hemali Phatnani, Yi-shuan Tseng, Liam Holt
ePosterNeuroscience

Blaming neuromelanin for Parkinson's disease: time-dependent tyrosinase overexpression drives endogenous synucleinopathy in nonhuman primates

Jose L. Lanciego, Julia Chocarro, Ana Fajardo-Serrano, Alfonso Vazquez, Ana I. Rodríguez-Pérez, Jose L. Labandeira-Garcia, Miquel Vila, Alberto J. Rico
ePosterNeuroscience

Brain connectivity in Huntington's disease

Laetitia Capellano, Jean Christophe Deloulme, Frédéric Saudou, Sandrine Humbert
ePosterNeuroscience

Brain dysfunction induced by chronic kidney disease

Veronica Buonincontri, Antonio De Donato, Pedro Imenez Silva, Carsten A. Wagner, Giovambattista Capasso, Davide Viggiano
ePosterNeuroscience

Dopamine dysregulation in Parkinson's Disease

Chaitanya Chintaluri, Tim Vogels

Bernstein Conference 2024

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