Dr. Ching-Lung HSU

Research Scientist, Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
Ashburn, Virginia, USA

Date: Mon, 29-May-2017
Time: 4:00 PM
Venue: Seminar Room 4, G/F Laboratory Block, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

Summary:

The hippocampus is a mammalian brain structure critically implicated in the formation of memories. The detailed cellular mechanisms—especially the roles of voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels—have not been well understood, due to technical constraints. In this talk, I will discuss how a biophysically similar class of Nav channels acts as a key link between local signal integration in dendritic/peri-somatic compartments and long-lasting synaptic plasticity, which support neuronal input-output transformation across multiple timescales, from milliseconds, seconds, to tens of minutes, based on our work using approaches that combine electrophysiology, imaging, refined pharmacology, and computational modeling. Furthermore, applying patch-clamp recording in awake, behaving rodents on a virtual reality system, I further provide direct evidence that Nav channels shape the neural coding of spatial information—a crucial component of event memories—in hippocampal pyramidal neurons, in a way that is independent of their canonical role for driving action potentials.

ALL ARE WELCOME