Guest Lecture by Siegrid Löwel (University of Göttingen)

The dynamic architecture of the adult visual cortex: how to keep my brain young?

My lab is focussed on understanding the development and plasticity of neuronal circuits in the mammalian cortex. We use a combination of techniques, including various imaging/physiological techniques and behavioural analyses to explore how experience and learning influence the structure and function of nerve cell networks and how activity patterns and genetic factors influence these processes. We hope that answering these key questions not only helps to understand the rules underlying brain development, functioning and learning but additionally will open up new avenues to develop clinically relevant concepts to promote regeneration and rehabilitation for diseased and injured brains.
In my lecture, I will focus on recent experiments about the role of various stimulating environments on visual cortical plasticity in mice. In addition, I will present a completely new molecular mechanism governing both the duration of a critical period in early postnatal development and the maturation of nerve cell contacts.

Literature

Huang et al. (2015) Progressive Maturation of Silent Synapses Governs the Duration of a Critical Period. PNAS 112(24):E3131-40 (Link)

Greifzu et al. (2014) Environmental enrichment extends ocular dominance plasticity into adulthood and protects from stroke-induced impairments of plasticity. PNAS 111(3):1150-5 (Link)

short bio: https://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/187370.html