Cajal course : Advanced Techniques for Synapse Biology – Lectures

Here is the program of the lectures that are organized during the next CAJAL course. Open to everyone.

October 15 – 9:00
Inna SLUTSKY
Plasticity-stability balance in hippocampal circuits: From basic principles to malfunctions

October 17 – 9:00
Monica DI LUCA
Synapses dynamic in health and diseases

October 18 – 9:00
Daniel CHOQUET
Nanoscale imaging of synapse organization and function

October 24 – 9:00
Dietmar SCHMUCKER
Molecular Mechanisms of Neurite branching and CNS Synaptogenesis

October 25 – 9:00
Bart DE STROOPER
From biochemical to cellular phase in Alzheimer’s disease

October 26 – 9:00
Reinhard JAHN
Synaptic vesicles – key organelles in synaptic transmission

October 28 – 9:00
Claudia BAGNI
Brain connectivity and molecular pathways in autism

October 29 – 9:00
Matthijs VERHAGE
Unique and shared principles in the secretion of different chemical signals from mammalian CNS neurons

October 30 – 9:00
Stéphane OLIET
Contribution of astrocytes to synaptic transmission and plasticity

About the course

Synaptic contacts are critical for information transfer in the brain. They are specialized sites, often far from the neuronal cell body, and operate in part as independent units. Synaptic contacts are very diverse and synaptic plasticity underlies memory formation and thought. Synaptic dysfunction is strongly associated with diseases of the brain and this is thought to be an early feature of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. The study of the molecular mechanisms of synaptic function and plasticity are the key to understanding how the brain works and what goes wrong in disease. Many of these processes are evolutionarily very well conserved and researchers study synaptic processes in a variety of species and in human neuron models. The training of a new generation of neuroscientists with advanced techniques is crucial to make these studies a success in the coming decades.

The advanced course will allow students to integrate the basic techniques in molecular and cellular neurobiology with advanced state-of-the art molecular, imaging and functional methodologies, through direct hands-on experiments using a variety of models.

Course director

Patrik Verstreken
VIB-KULeuven
Belgium