Oxford Events, the new replacement for OxTalks, will launch on 16th March. From now until the launch of Oxford Events, new events cannot be published or edited on OxTalks while all existing records are migrated to the new platform. The existing OxTalks site will remain available to view during this period.
From 16th, Oxford Events will launch on a new website: events.ox.ac.uk, and event submissions will resume. You will need a Halo login to submit events. Full details are available on the Staff Gateway.
The synaptic connectome of the nematode C. elegans has been mapped completely, and efforts are ongoing to map the connectomes of other animals. However, chemical synapses represent only one of several types of signaling interaction in the nervous system. In particular, neuromodulation by monoamines, neuropeptides, or classical neurotransmitters is widespread and often occurs extrasynaptically between neurons not connected by wired synapses. In C. elegans, it is feasible to map these neuromodulatory networks comprehensively and at a single-cell level and examine how wired and wireless signaling interact. In this talk, I will describe what we have learned about the functional organisation of neuromodulatory circuitry involved in the control of behavioural states such as arousal, as well as our ongoing efforts to map extrasynaptic connectome networks comprehensively in the worm. In addition, I will discuss our identification of new ionotropic receptors for monoamines and other neuromodulators, which may represent novel targets for anti-parasitic drugs.