Difference between revisions of "ICLM Journal Club"

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(This Week)
(This Week)
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Place : Gonda 2nd Floor Conference Room
 
Place : Gonda 2nd Floor Conference Room
  
Title: '''Dissociable profiles of generalization/discrimination in human hippocampus during visual associative memory retrieval'''
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Title: '''Activity-Induced Nr4a1 Regulates Spine Density and Distribution Pattern of Excitatory Synapses in Pyramidal Neurons'''
  
 
Speaker: '''Shivan Bonanno (Martin Lab)'''
 
Speaker: '''Shivan Bonanno (Martin Lab)'''
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Excitatory synapses occur mainly on dendritic spines, and spine density is usually correlated with the strength of excitatory synaptic transmission. We report that Nr4a1, an activity-inducible gene encoding a nuclear receptor, regulates the density and distribution of dendritic spines in CA1 pyramidal neurons. Nr4a1 overexpression resulted in elimination of the majority of spines; however, postsynaptic densities were preserved on dendritic shafts, and the strength of excitatory synaptic transmission was unaffected, showing that excitatory synapses can be dissociated from spines. mRNA expression profiling studies suggest that Nr4a1-mediated transcriptional regulation of the actin cytoskeleton contributes to this effect. Under conditions of chronically elevated activity, when Nr4a1 was induced, Nr4a1 knockdown increased the density of spines and PSDs specifically at the distal ends of dendrites. Thus, Nr4a1 is a key component of an activity-induced transcriptional program that regulates the density and distribution of spines and synapses.
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[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627314004425 Yelin Chen, Yuanyuan Wang, Ali Ertürk, Dara Kallop, Zhiyu Jiang, Robby M. Weimer, Joshua Kaminker, Morgan Sheng]
  
 
='''About Us'''=
 
='''About Us'''=

Revision as of 16:41, 11 February 2015

This Week

13 February 2015

Time: 09:30 am

Place : Gonda 2nd Floor Conference Room

Title: Activity-Induced Nr4a1 Regulates Spine Density and Distribution Pattern of Excitatory Synapses in Pyramidal Neurons

Speaker: Shivan Bonanno (Martin Lab)

Excitatory synapses occur mainly on dendritic spines, and spine density is usually correlated with the strength of excitatory synaptic transmission. We report that Nr4a1, an activity-inducible gene encoding a nuclear receptor, regulates the density and distribution of dendritic spines in CA1 pyramidal neurons. Nr4a1 overexpression resulted in elimination of the majority of spines; however, postsynaptic densities were preserved on dendritic shafts, and the strength of excitatory synaptic transmission was unaffected, showing that excitatory synapses can be dissociated from spines. mRNA expression profiling studies suggest that Nr4a1-mediated transcriptional regulation of the actin cytoskeleton contributes to this effect. Under conditions of chronically elevated activity, when Nr4a1 was induced, Nr4a1 knockdown increased the density of spines and PSDs specifically at the distal ends of dendrites. Thus, Nr4a1 is a key component of an activity-induced transcriptional program that regulates the density and distribution of spines and synapses.

Yelin Chen, Yuanyuan Wang, Ali Ertürk, Dara Kallop, Zhiyu Jiang, Robby M. Weimer, Joshua Kaminker, Morgan Sheng

About Us

Introduction

The Integrative Center for Learning and Memory (ICLM) is a multidisciplinary center of UCLA labs devoted to understanding the neural basis of learning and memory and its disorders. This will require a unified approach across different levels of analysis, including;

1. Elucidating the molecular cellular and systems mechanisms that allow neurons and synapses to undergo the long-term changes that ultimately correspond to 'neural memories'.

2. Understanding how functional dynamics and computations emerge from complex circuits of neurons, and how plasticity governs these processes.

3. Describing the neural systems in which different forms of learning and memory take place, and how these systems interact to ultimately generate behavior and cognition.

History of ICLM

The Integrative Center for Learning and Memory formally LMP started in its current form in 1998, and has served as a platform for many interactions and collaborations within UCLA. A key event organized by the group is the weekly ICLM Journal Club. For more than 10 years, graduate students, postdocs, principal investigators, and invited speakers have presented on topics ranging from the molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, through computational models of learning, to behavior and cognition. Dean Buonomano oversees the ICLM journal club with help of student/post doctoral organizers. For other events organized by ICLM go to http://www.iclm.ucla.edu/Events.html.

Current Organizers:

Walt Babiec (O'Dell Lab) & Helen Motanis (Buonomano Lab)

Current Faculty Advisor:

Dean Buonomano


Past Organizers:

i) Anna Matynia(Aug 2004 - Jun 2008) (Silva Lab)

ii) Robert Brown (Aug 2008 - Jun 2009) (Balleine Lab)

iii) Balaji Jayaprakash (Aug 2008 - Nov 2011) (Silva Lab)

iv) Justin Shobe & Thomas Rogerson (Dec 2011 - June 2013) (Silva Lab)

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