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SUMMARY:From the dynamic synapse to synaptopathies - Dr Deepak Srivastava 
 (IoPPN\, King's College London)
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170328T120000
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170328T130000
UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/3beb0339-c4a3-45c6-8461-05e04ed15b27/
DESCRIPTION:There is increasing evidence that the dynamic regulation of sy
 napse structure and function within neuronal circuits is an essential comp
 onent of normal cognitive function. Multiple studies have demonstrated tha
 t changes in the number and shape of dendritic spines are key to the acqui
 sition of learned behaviours. These actin rich dendritic protrusions are t
 he sites for the majority of excitatory synapses within the mammalian fore
 brain\, and contain a vast number of synaptic proteins\, including glutama
 te receptors. The precise control of structural and functional plasticity 
 is\, therefore\, critical for normal cognitive function. This is further e
 mphasized by increasing evidence that alterations in the expression or fun
 ction of key proteins that regulate these parameters are strongly associat
 ed with a range of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. There
 fore\, there is increasing interest in understanding whether modulation of
  structural and functional plasticity may offer a therapeutic avenue for t
 he treatment of neuropsychiatric or neurodegenerative disorders.\nThe Sriv
 astava lab is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms underly
 ing the dynamic regulation of structural and functional plasticity at exci
 tatory synapses in response to extrinsic and intrinsic signals. Furthermor
 e\, the lab is interested in how these mechanisms are perturbed in a numbe
 r of neurodevelopmental\, psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases\, and
  how alteration in excitatory synaptic function may contribute to the path
 ophysiology of disease. Moreover\, we are interested in whether it is poss
 ible to mimic how dendritic spines are regulated under physiological condi
 tions\, in order to ‘normalize’ aberrant synaptic structure and/or fun
 ction. In this talk\, I will highlight some recent work from our group tha
 t aims to understand how estrogens dynamically regulate synaptic structure
  and function. Estrogens are powerful regulators of cognition in both male
  and females\, however\, the precise mechanisms that underlie these effect
 s are not well understood. Critically\, recent clinical studies have indic
 ated that estrogenic-based compounds have beneficial or neuroprotective ef
 fects in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. However\, again\, our un
 derstanding of how these effects occur are limited. Using a range of in vi
 tro approaches\, including primary cell cultures as well as neurons differ
 entiated from patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells to recapitul
 ate synaptic pathology seen in disease\, we find that estrogens are still 
 capable of modulating synapse structure and function. Thus\, we propose th
 at the beneficial effects that estrogenic-based compounds exert are in par
 t driven by their ability to modulate synaptic structure and function. \n\
 nSpeakers:\nDr Deepak Srivastava (IoPPN\, King's College London)
LOCATION:NDM Building (Seminar Room\, Nuffield Department of Medicine Rese
 arch Building\, Old Road Campus)\, Headington OX3 7FZ
TZID:Europe/London
URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/3beb0339-c4a3-45c6-8461-05e04ed15b27/
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DESCRIPTION:Talk:From the dynamic synapse to synaptopathies - Dr Deepak Sr
 ivastava (IoPPN\, King's College London)
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