SEMINAR SUMMARY

Immediate early genes, such as Arc/Arg3.1, are associated with multiple forms of synaptic plasticity and are thought to be key mediators of specific forms of learning. Arc is pivotal for appropriate control of metabotropic glutamate receptor long-term depression (mGluR-LTD), a form of synaptic plasticity associated with the ability to switch task demands otherwise known as cognitive flexibility. Here I will present findings showing that the persistent expression of Arc in the hippocampus is associated with enhanced mGluR-LTD and the inability of updating previously learned tasks. These findings indicate that the temporal dynamics of Arc expression are important for maintain mGluR-LTD amplitude at an optimum level, which allows efficiently perform of hippocampal-mediated spatial task.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

PROFESSOR SONIA CORRÊA-MÜLLER graduated from the University of São Paulo in 1988 with a degree in Physics. After teaching Mathematics and Physics at High School for 2 years, Sonia returned to the University of São Paulo for her masters in the Biophysics Department followed by her PhD in Neurophysiology at the Department of Physiology at the School of Medicine. After completing graduate work in 1997, Sonia stayed at University of São Paulo working on the connectivity and function of telencephalon in electric fish before she joined Gunther Zupanc’s laboratory at the University of Manchester working on the brain connectivity of electric fish. In late 2001 Sonia joined the laboratories of Professors Jeremy Henley, Neil Marrion and Graham L Collingridge at the MRC Centre for Synaptic Plasticity at the University of Bristol where she became interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms and signalling pathways regulating mGluR-mediated long-term depression and learning and memory. After 6 years in Bristol, Sonia joined the laboratory of Professor Bruno Frenguelli followed by a Fellowship to establish her independent career at the University of Warwick. In 2014 Sonia obtained a Reader in Pharmacology at the University of Bradford and in 2019 she accepted a Chair in Neuroscience at the Manchester Metropolitan University, where her laboratory research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms and signalling pathways regulating synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus.