The 2026 Picower Lecture with Richard L. Huganir
Richard L. Huganir discusses research on the molecular mechanisms that regulate glutamate receptors, the brain's major excitatory neurotransmitter receptors, and thereby modulate communication between neurons.
Modulation of oligodendrocyte development and myelination by voltage-gated Ca++ channels
The oligodendrocyte generates CNS myelin, which is essential for normal nervous system function. Thus, investigating the regulatory and signaling mechanisms that control its differentiation and the production of myelin is relevant to our understanding of brain development and of adult pathologies such as multiple sclerosis. We have recently established that the activity of voltage-gated Ca++ channels is crucial for the adequate migration, proliferation and maturation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). Furthermore, we have found that voltage-gated Ca++ channels that function in synaptic communication between neurons also mediate synaptic signaling between neurons and OPCs. Thus, we hypothesize that voltage-gated Ca++ channels are central components of OPC-neuronal synapses and are the principal ion channels mediating activity-dependent myelination.