CDB Seminar - Dr Hiyaa Ghosh, NCBS, India

Talk abstract: Neural plasticity has been mostly studied with a focus on ‘spines’ of the neurons, where synapses occur. Structural plasticity of adult brain neurons is mostly thought to occur via structural rearrangements of the spines that sit on the complex dendritic branches of neurons, while remodeling of the dendritic branches is thought to be limited mostly to the early stages of postnatal development. We recently discovered that the dendritic arbor of neurons in the adult brain retain the ability to change its dendritic structure. Our study identified a large network of genes regulated by the transcription factor Tcf4 to underlie proactive maintenance of the dendritic structure of adult neuron, thereby imparting the ability in the adult neuron to morph its dendritic tree. This discovery led us to ask, why would neurons in the adult brain retain the ability to change the structure of their dendritic tree? What could be its physiology relevance? In our pursuit for gaining insight into these questions, we have come upon some interesting observations about the CA1 pyramidal neurons in the adult brain. In my talk, I will discuss these findings and our current understanding of the possible physiological significance of dendritic flexibility in adult brain neurons.

Suggested reference: Adult brain neurons require continual expression of the schizophrenia-risk gene Tcf4 for structural and functional integrity. Sarkar D, Shariq M, Dwivedi D, Krishnan N, Naumann R, Bhalla US, Ghosh HS. Translational Psychiatry. 2021 Sep 25;11(1):494. doi: 10.1038/s41398-021-01618-x.

Zoom: https://ucl.zoom.us/j/95612457019

Host: Vilaiwan Fernandes