Further information
Dr Vincenzo de Paola, Clinical Research Sciences, Imperial College London presents this seminar as part of the Department of Bioengineering Autumn 2009 Seminar Series.
Abstract: Are neocortical microcircuits in the adult brain fixed or can learning and memory change them? Which cellular signalling pathways underlie the stability or modification of neuronal connections and how can they be manipulated to design new therapies for neurological diseases? We are combining behavioural and advanced molecular genetic, imaging and anatomical techniques to study the dynamics of neocortical microcircuits including neurons, astrocytes, microglia and synapses in animal models of common brain disorders with in vivo 2-photon microscopy. This optical tool enables the detection of fluorescently-labelled cellular compartments in scattering tissue up to several hundred microns below the surface of the intact brain. We have recently tracked the dynamics of multiple axonal circuits in response to sensory experience over a wide range of temporal scales, from seconds to several months and are extending this work to investigate the adaptive modifications of neural circuits in the context of central nervous system dysfunction. This provides a novel way of looking at the cellular and synaptic basis of common pathologies such as fragile-X syndrome and brain injury. We hope this approach will lead to the discovery of synaptic and circuit phenotypes at early stages of disease that could be used as therapeutic targets.
Biography: Dr Vincenzo de Paola complete his PhD with Pico Caroni working on the NMJ and Hippocampus in the Friedrich Miescher Institut For Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland. He worked as a Post-doctoral fellow with K. Svoboda working on in vivo imaging of cortical circuitry in Cold Spring Harbor Lab, NY, USA in 2007. He is currently a Group Leader in the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre at Imperial College London, a post he has held since 2008.
For more information please contact Dr Jennifer Siggers, j.siggers@imperial.ac.uk, 020 7594 3663.