NACS Seminar

Abstract ::

Rapid changes in neuronal response properties occur in the visual cortex as a result of imbalances in binocular vision during the critical period. These changes involve the remodeling of synapses that carry information from the deprived and non-deprived eyes in an activity-dependent manner. We have recently found that microglia, the immune cells of the brain, are highly active during periods of synaptic remodeling in the visual cortex. These cells are highly ramified and their processes are constantly exploring the brain parenchyma, contacting synapses and dynamically surveying the synaptic cleft. Microglia-synapse contacts influence synaptic structure. We are now exploring the mechanisms that allow neurons to communicate with microglia in an activity-dependent manner to recruit these cells to help implement plastic changes at synapses. We have focused on purinergic and fractalkine signaling as these can allow relatively specific signaling between neurons and microglia through receptors that are expressed exclusively in microglia within the brain. We have found that disrupting both of these signaling systems by inhibiting the receptors on microglia affect the development and plasticity of neural networks in visual cortex.
 

Biography ::

Ania Majewska is an Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy at the University of Rochester in New York where she is also the director of the Neuroscience Graduate Program. Dr, Majewska received her BS in Biology and Chemistry from Stanford University and a PhD in Neurobiology and Behavior from Columbia University. She completed her postdoctoral training at MIT with Dr. Mriganka Sur. She currently studies the mechanisms of structural plasticity at synapses in the visual cortex with a particular focus on microglial roles in this process.