WEBINAR - BMI Progress Reports 2020 // Prof. Gräff's Lab: Giulia Santoni - An epigenetic contribution to neuronal competition during memory formation
Event details
Date | 13.05.2020 |
Hour | 12:15 › 13:00 |
Speaker | Giulia Santoni |
Location | |
Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Over the past years, multiple lines of evidence have suggested that long-lasting memories are stored in a small set of neurons scattered throughout the brain, so-called engram cells (Josselyn et al., 2015, Nat Rev Neurosci; Tonegawa et al., 2015, Neuron). From these studies it is becoming apparent that during the process of memory formation, each region of the brain involved in memory storage recruits between 5 and 20 percent of excitatory neurons to define a stable engram. Hence, as memories start to be encoded, the size constraint of the engram to be formed likely imposes neurons to enter in competition for memory allocation. Indeed, recent studies have revealed that the neuronal competition to participate in the memory engram is not random; rather, post-synaptic neurons with a higher excitability then their neighbors are more likely to be selected into the memory trace (Zhou et al., 2009, Nat Neurosci; Yiu et al., 2014, Neuron).
This project wants to further explore the process of memory allocation by studying how epigenetic mechanisms contribute to neuronal selection. Specifically, we will focus on one of the main epigenetic modifications studied in learning and memory: histone acetylation (Gräff and Tsai, 2013, Nat Rev Neurosci). Our hypothesis is that based on its epigenetic make-up, and depending on the transcriptional outcome of such epigenetic code, a neuron will acquire certain transcriptomic signatures that define its engagement in memory formation.
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
- Brain Mind Institute