[BIC-announce] FW: Killam Lecture - TODAY - Unraveling Neuron-Glial Communication and Dynamics at Hippocampal synapses

[Jennifer Chew, Ms.]

PLEASE DISCARD IF THIS IS A DUPLICATE.  THANK YOU.  JENNIFER 

Jennifer Chew
McConnell Brain Imaging Centre
MNI - WB317
3801 University Street
Montreal, Qc  H3A 2B4
Telephone:  514-398-8554
Fax:  514-398-2975

________________________________________
From: MNISTAFF - Montreal Neurological Institute Staff [mailto:MNISTAFF at LISTS.MCGILL.CA] On Behalf Of Enza Ferracane, Ms.
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2006 9:10 AM
To: MNISTAFF at LISTS.MCGILL.CA
Subject: Killam Lecture - TODAY

 
KILLAM LECTURE -  TODAY 
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
 
Speaker:  Dr. Keith Murai, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, McGill University
 
Title:  Unraveling Neuron-Glial Communication and Dynamics at Hippocampal Synapses
 
Time:  4:00 pm
 
Place:  de Grandpre Communication Centre

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Dear Colleagues,
It is a great pleasure to have Dr. Keith Murai, an assistant professor at the McGill Center for Research in Neuroscience (Montreal General hospital) presenting this week's Killam seminar.
Dr. Murai is interested in the regulation of synaptic morphology and function.  He is particularly interested in understanding how neural and glial proteins and their signaling complexes regulate synaptic morphology and function.  In certain brain regions such as the hippocampus (an area important for learning and memory), neurons have the potential to undergo morphological changes into adulthood. In particular, the dendritic spines, the small protrusions on dendrites that receive the vast majority of excitatory input in the brain, show extensive geometrical remodeling. They can change their morphology on the order of minutes, suggesting that alterations in neural activity can quickly alter spine parameters. These modifications may enable rapid adjustments to ionic balance (i.e. Ca2+), biochemical, and protein signaling events that impact postsynaptic physiology. Proper spine structure, motility, and organization is likely critical for synaptic efficacy while abnormalities may be related to mental retardation associated with conditions such as Down, Williams, and fragile-X syndromes, and cognitive impairments linked to schizophrenia. Thus, identifying the mechanisms that regulate the structural features of spines is important for understanding elements of synaptic plasticity, cognitive function, and mental disease.
Projects in his lab include the study of the role Eph receptors and their ephrin ligands in defining synaptic morphology and understanding how the relationship between neurons and glia influences brain plasticity.   Dr. Murai's lab employs a combination of molecular, biochemical, and cell imaging approaches to study the synaptic function of proteins and signaling complexes. 
 
Alyson Fournier, PhD
Assistant Professor - Neurology and Neurosurgery
Montreal Neurological Institute
3801 Rue University, BT-109
Montreal, QC
H3A 2B4
TEL: 514-398-3154
FAX: 514-398-6547
alyson.fournier at mcgill.ca