BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Memento EPFL// BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Blue Brain Virtual Talk - Cortical neuronal diversity supporting h uman cognition DTSTART:20230626T163000 DTEND:20230626T173000 DTSTAMP:20260408T122114Z UID:c674843b2d06264f4e6ad7ac13bb159d195629ea80a20c582cadf740 CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars DESCRIPTION:Huib Mansvelder\nThe EPFL Blue Brain Project is delighted to w elcome Huib Mansvelder for this virtual talk.\n\nAbstract\nWhy are som e people able to think faster than others? It is a mystery how neurobiolog ical factors contribute to differences in cognitive ability between indivi duals. Can differences in brain circuits\, cells\, or perhaps molecular ne tworks contribute? Traditionally\, research on the topic of the neurobiolo gy of human mental ability follows two very different strategies: either i nvestigating brain structure and function of areas in our brain that are i nvolved in intelligence through brain imaging\, or identifying genes and g enetic loci associated with intelligence in genome wide association studie s. However\, we know little about the intermediate level: how do propertie s of brain cells relate to human cognition? Most of our understanding of h ow properties of brain cells contribute to cognition comes from laboratory animals. The emergence of single cell transcriptomics combined with funct ional and morphological analysis of neurons in human neocortex may offer a n opportunity to understand how genes of intelligence can act on cortical structure and function to contribute to human mental ability. This talk is centered on the question of whether human neocortical architecture and ne uron properties contribute to human cognition. I will discuss our recent w ork on adaptations in human neuron structure and function that distinguish es them from those of laboratory animals. Furthermore\, I will show our re cent approaches to link genetic\, cellular\, and brain-imaging studies by investigating whether expression of genes associated with human cognitive ability are associated with the neuronal properties in specific neuron typ es and brain areas.\n \nBiography\nHuib Mansvelder received his PhD in N europhysiology from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 1999. In his thesi s\, he investigated the control of large dense-core vesicle release by vol tage-gated calcium channels in neuroendocrine cells in the pituitary. Duri ng his postdoctoral research with Dan McGehee at the University of Chicago \, he studied drug-induced synaptic plasticity in dopamine neurons\, and f ound mechanisms by which nicotinic receptors alter glutamatergic and GABAe rgic synaptic transmission in the VTA. During his second postdoc at Columb ia University New York with Rafael Yuste\, rapid calcium dynamics in dendr itic spines were studied using 2-photon imaging. In the summer of 2002\,  Huib started his own lab at VU University in Amsterdam. He became full pr ofessor in 2008 and since heads the department of Integrative Neurophysiol ogy. His research focuses on how the prefrontal cortex orchestrates attent ion behavior in rodents\, in particular in interaction with subcortical br ain areas\, such as the basal forebrain. In addition\, his lab investigate s how neuronal microcircuits in the human neocortex are organized\, both a natomically as well as functionally\, and how properties of human neurons relate to human cognition. Huib received various awards and honors for h is work\, such as the ERC advanced grant and selection to the Academy of E urope.\n\n  LOCATION:https://epfl.zoom.us/j/65198768673 STATUS:CONFIRMED END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR