MEDS 6497 - Neuroscience Journal Club

Presenter, Course Co-Directors:

Rosa Guzzo, guzzo@uchc.edu
Paola Bargagna-Mohan@uchc.edu

MEDS 6497 - Neuroscience Journal Club

Presenter:
Marwa Elamin
Levine Lab

“GABAergic signaling to astrocytes in the prefrontal cortex sustains goal-directed behaviors” Nature Neuroscience 24, 82-92 (2021), pages 82–92 (2021)

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-020-00752-x

Course Co-Directors:
Rosa Guzzo, guzzo@uchc.edu
Paola Bargagna-Mohan@uchc.edu

MEDS 6497 - Neuroscience Journal Club

Presenter:
Dea Gorka
Chamberlain Lab

"Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) promotes social behavior through mTORC1 in the excitatory neurotransmission”, De Gregorio et al, PNAS 2021 Vol 118

Link to paper: https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/118/5/e2020705118.full.pdf

Course Co-Directors:
Rosa Guzzo, guzzo@uchc.edu
Paola Bargagna-Mohan@uchc.edu

Sponsored by the Kim Family Fund

"How the Centrosome Controls Cerebral Cortical Development"

Presenter:
Byoung-Il Bae, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience
UConn Health, Farmington, CT

MEDS 6497 - Neuroscience Journal Club

Presenter:
Bruce Rheaume
Trakhtenberg Lab

"A new neutrophil subset promotes CNS neuron survival and axon regeneration." Nat Immunol. 2020 Dec;21(12):1496-1505. doi: 10.1038/s41590-020-00813-0. Epub 2020 Oct 26.

Link to paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33106668/

Course Co-Directors:
Rosa Guzzo, guzzo@uchc.edu
Paola Bargagna-Mohan@uchc.edu

Sponsored by the Kim Family Fund

"Discriminating Alpha-synuclein strains and sub-strains in Synucleinopathies"


Presenter:
Mohammad Shahnawaz, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology
Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Brain Disorders
Houston, TX

BACKGROUND: Synucleinopathies are a diverse group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by
misfolding aggregation and accumulation of misfolded alpha-synuclein (αSyn) in neurons or glial cells,
which include Parkinson’s disease (PD) multiple system atrophy (MSA), and dementia with Lewy bodies
(DLB). Although they share the same pathological protein, different synucleinopathies present distinct
clinical and pathological phenotypes. Clinically, it is very challenging to differentiate particularly PD from
MSA, especially at the early stage of the disease. Accumulating evidence suggests that αSyn aggregates
associated with different synucleinopathies adopt distinct conformational strains. Our results also suggest
the existence of distinct αSyn strains with the same disease (here called sub-strains to avoid confusion).
αSyn strains and sub-strains faithfully self-propagate and spread between cells. We propose that
discrimination of these conformational αSyn strains and sub-strains hold promise for differential diagnosis
and understanding the relationship between structures of αSyn strains and sub-strains and their pathologic
functions.

Host:
Dr. Md Golam Sharaor, sharoar@uchc.edu

MEDS 6497 - Neuroscience Journal Club

Presenter:
Ramalakshmi Ramasamy,
Smith Lab

"Probabilistic, spinally-gated control of bladder pressure and autonomous micturition by Barrington’s nucleus CRH neurons." Banakhar MA, Al-Shaiji TF, Hassouna MM. Pathophysiology of overactive bladder. International Urogynecology Journal. 2012;23:975–982. doi: 10.1007/s00192-012-1682-6. - DOI - PubMed

Link to paper: https://elifesciences.org/articles/56605


Course Co-Directors:
Rosa Guzzo, guzzo@uchc.edu
Paola Bargagna-Mohan@uchc.edu