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X-WR-CALNAME:Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health | DMCBH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health | DMCBH
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20241101T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20241101T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240320T233835Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240806T181502Z
UID:13085-1730458800-1730462400@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Edmund Au: Elucidating Principles of Cortical Interneuron Synaptic Organization
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nCortical interneurons are the most transcriptionally and morphologically diverse neurons in the brain\, characterized in part by their striking degree of synaptic specificity. However\, little is known about the extent of their synaptic diversity due to the lack of unbiased methods to extract features of synaptic organization among interneuron subtypes. In this talk\, I will introduce an approach we developed that combines imaging and computational extraction of synaptic features from genetically-identified interneuron synapses and their subcellular specificity among postsynaptic targets. A machine-learning approach (1) reveals hundreds of spatial and structural features from each analyzed synapse\, (2) constructs a multidimensional data set\, consisting of millions of synapses\, and (3) uncovers novel synaptic subgroups. By analyzing this dataset\, we found that dendrite-targeting synaptic subgroups were clustered onto distinct subdomains of the dendrite along the proximal to distal axis; Soma-targeting subgroups were enriched onto different postsynaptic cell types; Finally\, the two main subclasses of interneurons\, basket cells and somatostatin interneurons\, utilize distinct strategies to enact inhibitory synaptic coverage. Thus\, we uncover previously unknown structural and topological features of inhibitory synaptic organization and establishes a conceptual framework for studying inhibitory synaptic diversity in health and disease.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-edmund-au/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20241115T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20241115T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240321T193757Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240808T173346Z
UID:13094-1731668400-1731672000@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Anna Phan:  How social isolation impairs learning
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nSocial isolation and loneliness has been on the rise for the last 20yrs. Many studies have linked increased rates of isolation and loneliness to dementia\, depression\, anxiety\, and other mental health disorders\, but how isolation affects the brain to alter behaviors is unknown. Here\, we focus on how isolation impairs learning and memory in the model organism Drosophila. We’ve found that isolation impairs learning and reduces synaptic proteins in the brains of fruit flies. This appears to cause alterations to their neural circuitry  that impairs learning by reducing the capacity for synaptic plasticity.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-anna-phan/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20241122T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20241122T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240722T202155Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241021T191637Z
UID:14118-1732273200-1732276800@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Sepideh Sadaghiani: The connectome multiplex
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nThe human functional connectome has become synonymous with its fMRI heritage\, which yields connectivity on the basis of extremely slow fluctuations of the hemodynamic signal. Recently however\, these slow connectivity patterns have been complemented with fast connectivity from electrophysiological measures. In this talk\, I will discuss synergistic investigations of the functional connectome that use multiple complimentary acquisition methods. This multi-modal approach has demonstrated that the connectome comprises both fast\, oscillation-based connectivity observable in EEG\, and extremely slow connectivity best captured with fMRI. While the fast and slow processes share spatial organization\, these processes unfold in a temporally independent manner. Our findings suggest that equivalent dynamics are engaged across all timescales\, but at different speeds. Infraslow and rapid connectivity of various frequency bands can thus be conceptualized as a multiplex of concurrent trajectories through a shared space of discrete connectome states. In conclusion\, basic and translational research will benefit from comprehensively considering the full breadth of the functional connectome’s timescales.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-sepideh-sadaghiani/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20241129T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20241129T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240321T201659Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240809T165648Z
UID:13099-1732878000-1732881600@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Paul Frankland: Ontogeny of hippocampus-dependent memory
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nMemories for events (i.e.\, episodic memories) formed in early development differ from those in adulthood in at least two regards. First\, these memories tend to be rapidly forgotten (i.e.\, infantile amnesia). Second\, they tend to be less precise than those formed in adulthood (i.e.\, infantile generalization). My talk will focus on the neurobiological mechanisms that account for these different operating characteristics of episodic memory in the developing brain. With respect to infantile amnesia\, we have shown that maturation of cortical circuits is necessary for the formation of enduring event memories. With respect to infantile generalization\, our studies reveal that maturation of inhibitory microcircuits in the hippocampus are necessary for the formation of adult-like\, precise memories for events.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-paul-frankland/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20241206T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20241206T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240325T184430Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241001T201215Z
UID:13108-1733482800-1733486400@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Fergil Mills: Novel amygdalostriatal circuits for valence and fear
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nThe amygdalostrital transition zone (ASt) is situated at a crossroads between the amygdala and striatum\, but its role in motivated behaviors is poorly understood. We have explored the functional role and genetic identity of this structure\, and found the first evidence that the ASt encodes negative valence across behavioral timescales and is essential for orchestrating behavioral fear responses.”
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-fergil-mills/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250117T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250117T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240927T212841Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250110T214454Z
UID:14592-1737111600-1737115200@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Ami Citri: Cocaine to Volition: A research arc driven by automated behavioral analysis
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nI will discuss unpublished projects exploring the circuit basis of action selection\, describing how in-house development of an automated tool for behavioral annotation modified our research arc. Starting from cocaine-driven stereotypic actions\, we are exploring the neural circuit basis of involuntary and spontaneous actions\, and developing a framework for studying the neural circuit basis of volition.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-ami-citri/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250124T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250124T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240722T194917Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250102T192339Z
UID:14113-1737716400-1737720000@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Florian Engert:  Focus versus Competence: Attentional Switching in Larval Zebrafish
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nDecision making strategies in the face of conflicting or uncertain sensory input have been successfully described in many different species.  Here we analyze large behavioral datasets of larval zebrafish engaged in a ‘coherent dot’ optomotor assay. We find that animal performance is bimodal and can be separated into two ‘states’\, an engaged state where performance is high and fish consistently turn into the direction of the coherent motion\, and a second\, disengaged state\, where performance drops to chance. We find that a simple HMM is sufficient to model these transitions and fits our experimental data well. We find that this addition can be incorporated into an existing DDM framework that has previously been used to model perceptual decision making in larval zebrafish. Further\, we leverage the large behavioral data sets to fit a mixture model of performance distributions and extract two latent variables which we term ‘focus’ and ‘competence’. Whereas ‘competence’ quantifies performance while the fish is in the engaged state\, the ‘focus’ variable captures the relative duration for which each animal persists in the engaged state. We show that ‘focus’ may be largely inherited from the parents\, while ‘competence’ is more likely to be influenced by environmental context. This quantitative framework for analyzing decision making can be used to screen genetic perturbations for their impact on these two aspects of performance\, and potentially help to identify a genetic basis\, and a neural mechanism for attention\, that extends across organisms.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-florian-engert/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250131T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250131T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240328T170932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250102T192427Z
UID:13160-1738321200-1738324800@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:UBC Kickstart Updates
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/ubc-kickstart-updates-3/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250207T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250207T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240314T172306Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250102T192407Z
UID:13060-1738926000-1738929600@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:UBC Kickstart Updates
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/ubc-kickstart-updates-2/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250214T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250214T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240502T163317Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250114T183541Z
UID:13294-1739530800-1739534400@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Dorothy Schafer: Microglia-astrocyte crosstalk governing synapse remodeling
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nMicroglia and astrocytes have been implicated in remodeling synapses\, but whether and how these cells coordinate to remodel synapses remain open questions. Here\, we have identified key mechanistic underpinnings by which microglia instruct astrocytes to modify their synaptic coverage to enable synapse removal. We are further identifying how the degree of astrocyte synapse ensheathment can dictate windows of plasticity to enable microglia-mediated synapse remodeling in health and disease.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-dorothy-schafer/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250221T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250221T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240326T182656Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250102T192603Z
UID:13117-1740135600-1740139200@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Caroline Menard: Neurovascular adaptations underlie stress vulnerability vs resilience in mice and human depression
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nOur research program aims to shed light on the biological mechanisms underlying stress vulnerability vs resilience\, with help of state-of-the-art photonic technology\, in order to develop innovative treatments and identify biomarkers of mood disorders. Our multidisciplinary approach combines behavioral experiments to functional\, cellular\, molecular\, and imaging studies and validation of our rodent findings in human samples. We showed that chronic stress exposure promotes blood-brain barrier hyperpermeability leading to passage of circulating inflammatory mediators into the brain and the establishment of depressive behaviors. These changes occur in a sex-specific manner which may contribute to sex differences in depression prevalence\, symptoms and treatment responses. \n 
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-caroline-menard/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250227T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250227T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20241205T191009Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250219T001550Z
UID:15024-1740654000-1740657600@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Beatriz Rico and Dr. Oscar Marin
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Dr. Beatriz Rico\, King’s College London \nTitle: Assembly of cortical neurons in a dynamic circuit \nIn our daily life\, animal behaviours rely on precise connectivity between neurons in the brain that can be modulated by experience. In the mammalian cerebral cortex\, these connections reach an extraordinary complexity. How are these cortical circuitries built? How they respond to activity and what happens when they fail during development are questions that we are currently addressing in my lab. In this seminar\, I will focus on the precise integration of diverse neuronal populations during development\, regulated by intrinsic molecular mechanisms and dynamic fine-tuning mechanisms that maintain the balance between excitation and inhibition. For instance\, the development of excitatory pyramidal cells is simultaneously and precisely counterbalanced by the formation of inhibitory synapses during the maturation of neuronal circuits. Although this process relies on neuronal activity\, different types of pyramidal cells likely respond to changes in activity through the expression of cell-specific genes. \n  \nSpeaker: Dr. Oscar Marin\, King’s College London \nTitle: Maturation and plasticity of cortical interneurons \nGABAergic interneurons play crucial roles in regulating neuronal activity in the cerebral cortex. A hallmark of cortical interneurons is their remarkable structural and functional diversity\, yet the molecular determinants and the precise timing underlying their diversification remain largely unknown. The search for mechanisms controlling the diversity of GABAergic interneurons has primarily focused on transcriptional programs driving the initial specification of different types of interneurons. However\, relatively little is known about the mechanisms regulating their terminal differentiation. In this talk\, I will describe molecular mechanisms controlling the maturation and plasticity of PV+ interneurons\, a subclass of cortical interneurons that is particularly vulnerable across a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders. \n\nZoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-beatriz-rico-and-dr-oscar-marin/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NRC-February-27-2025.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250228T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250228T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240408T193919Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250116T190243Z
UID:13197-1740740400-1740744000@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Boris Heifets: Psychedelics\, anesthesia and dreaming
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nIn this lecture\, I will discuss our group’s efforts to deconstruct the psychedelic ‘state’\, drawing on both human and mouse experiments. While dreaming\, anesthesia and psychedelics are often considered distinct\, I argue that they share an underlying physiology\, phenomenology and possibly therapeutic effect.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-boris-heifets/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250307T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250307T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240321T195620Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250102T192658Z
UID:13096-1741345200-1741348800@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Alex Kwan: Making synapses with psychedelics
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nNumerous drugs have the ability to alter our perception\, cognition\, and mood. Some of these compounds\, such as ketamine and serotonergic psychedelics\, have also shown promise as treatment for mental illnesses. The behavioral effects are often long-lasting\, presumably because the drugs act on synapses and dendrites to induce plasticity in the brain. In this talk\, I will describe a series of studies from my lab aimed at understanding the mechanism of action of psilocybin\, using subcellular-resolution two-photon imaging\, in vivo electrophysiology\, rabies viral tracing\, and other molecular and behavioral approaches in mice. The results provide insights into the drug action of psychedelics on neural circuits.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-alex-kwan/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250314T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250314T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240322T165733Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250123T212207Z
UID:13104-1741950000-1741953600@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Anita Devineni: Neural processing for flexible feeding behaviors in Drosophila
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nHow does the brain process sensory information to generate adaptive behaviors that are innate\, yet flexible? My lab investigates this question in the taste system of the fruit fly Drosophila\, which offers unique tools to study how individual neurons contribute to neural circuit computations and behavior. First\, I will discuss our work using optogenetics\, behavior\, calcium imaging\, and connectomic analyses to investigate how taste circuits transform sensory signals into motor actions. Second\, I will discuss a project that bridges experimental and theoretical approaches to understand how flies make foraging decisions. Through these studies\, we hope to uncover principles of neural processing that generalize across species.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-anita-devineni/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250321T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250321T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240502T163129Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250102T192807Z
UID:13292-1742554800-1742558400@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Graham Collingridge: Glutamate receptors and synaptic plasticity in health and disease.
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nWorking in the laboratory of the late Hugh McLennan (Department of Physiology\, UBC) Stephen Kehl and I discovered that NMDA receptors trigger the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus.  Since these early experiments\, the roles of glutamate receptors and their associated signalling processes have been extensively studied.  I will provide an overview of the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus and how this information is being used to understand the molecular basis of\, and to develop treatments for\, a wide variety of brain disorders.  In this respect\, I will summarise some of our recent work in the areas of neurodevelopmental\, psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-graham-collingridge/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250328T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250328T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240326T182334Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250103T192355Z
UID:13113-1743159600-1743163200@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Anne Churchland: Movements and engagement during perceptual decision-making
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nSwitching between cognitive states is a natural tendency\, even for trained experts. To test how cognitive state impacts the relationship between neural activity and behavior\, we measured cortex-wide neural activity during decision-making in mice. Task variables and instructed movements elicited similar neural responses regardless of state\, but the neural activity associated with spontaneous\, uninstructed movements became highly variable during disengagement. Surprisingly\, this heightened variability was not due to an increase in movements: behavioral videos showed equally frequent movements in both cognitive states. But while the movement frequency remained similar\, movement timing changed: as animals slipped into disengagement\, their movements became erratically timed. These idiosyncratic movements were a strong predictor of task performance and drove increased variance in neural activity. Our results argue that movements constitute an embodied signature of cognitive state. These observations lay the foundation for future large-scale recording experiments in freely moving animals that we will conduct using novel tools that we have recently developed.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-anne-churchland/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250404T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250404T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20250214T224938Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250303T190048Z
UID:15549-1743764400-1743768000@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Sophie Caron: The ecological mind — making sense of the world with a tiny brain
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nBrains are evolved to learn\, enabling animals to respond flexibly to an unpredictable world and to draw on experience to guide future behaviors. To learn efficiently\, brains need to balance a high degree of flexibility in the representation of the outside world with the limited neuronal infrastructure available to them. Focusing on the Drosophila melanogaster olfactory system\, my research investigates how the neuronal circuits that enable efficient learning are pre-configured to interpret the world. In my presentation\, I will explore two key questions: First\, what are the neural pre-configurations that allow the brain to learn efficiently from the environment? Second\, how are these pre-configurations shaped by the ecological conditions in which brains evolve? Using a wide range of approaches — from neurogenetics and behavioral assays to cross-species comparisons and the study of species interactions — we reveal the subtle ways in which ecology shapes neuronal circuit architecture and function. \n 
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-sophie-caron/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250411T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250411T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240320T234924Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250102T195134Z
UID:13088-1744369200-1744372800@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Sandeep Robert Datta: Structure and meaning in natural behavior
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nEthologists describing animals in the wild have long appreciated that naturalistic\, self-motivated behavior is built from modules that are linked together over time into predictable sequences. Many such sequences are built to extract information from the environment. And yet\, it remains unclear how the brain regulates the selection of individual behavioral modules for expression at any given moment\, or how it dynamically composes these modules into the fluid behaviors observed when animals act of their own volition\, and in the absence of experimental restraint\, task structure or explicit reward. Here we use novel methods for characterizing spontaneous mouse behavior — combined with neural recordings and closed-loop manipulations — to reveal mechanisms used by the brain to create the architecture of self-guided behavior. I will describe recent results in which we explain behavioral variation across timescales ranging from milliseconds to millennia.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-sandeep-robert-datta/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250425T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250425T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240320T171011Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250102T193028Z
UID:13073-1745578800-1745582400@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Simon Chen: Probing the temporal dynamics of noradrenaline release at fine spatial scales during motor learning in healthy and diseased brains
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nNoradrenaline (NA) is a strong modulator of neuronal activity\, and many symptoms in patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be attributed to the maladaptive activity of locus coeruleus (LC)\, the main source of forebrain NA; hence\, it has garnered much attention as a potential lens through which to view and understand ASD. Our lab recently uncovered a role for dysregulated LC-NA function in motor learning delays in the 16p11.2 deletion mouse model of ASD (Yin et al.\, Nature Neuroscience 2021). We found that reduced NA levels in the primary motor cortex (M1) caused delays in motor learning and increased neuronal activity in pyramidal neurons (PNs) of M1 in 16p11.2 deletion mice. Strikingly\, both the behavioral and neuronal phenotypes were rescued by chemogenetic activation of LC-NA. \nIn order to fully characterize the local dynamic NA levels during learning in the 16p11.2 deletion mice\, we employ a newly developed optical NA sensor\, GRABNE\, with in vivo two-photon imaging to visualize the spatiotemporal release patterns of NA in M1 during motor learning. Intriguingly\, we find that while wild-type (WT) mice exhibit consistently elevated NA levels during movements\, 16p11.2 deletion mice show a delay in behaviorally induced NA increases. In addition to the delay in temporal dynamics\, 16p11.2 deletion mice show altered spatial dynamics\, with sparser and less behavior-specific NA release across M1 during the initial learning. In addition\, we also assess the LC-NA axonal neuronal activity in M1 using in vivo Ca2+ imaging. We also observe that behavior-related activity transients are less reliable in 16p11.2 deletion mice with more unspecific activity transients during the baseline period. Intriguingly\, pharmacological and closed loop optogenetic manipulations that disrupt the spatial and temporal specificity of NA release\, respectively\, in M1 were sufficient to induce delayed motor learning in WT mice. Our results offer new insights into the temporal dynamics of NA release at fine spatial scales within one brain region and how the specificities are critical for motor skill acquisition.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-simon-chen/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250502T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250502T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240419T183828Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250312T165215Z
UID:13252-1746183600-1746187200@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Sarah Morrow: Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis:The importance of integrating research findings into clinical practice.
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nThe objectives of this talk are to: \n\nUnderstand the importance of identifying cognitive complaints and cognitive impairment in persons with MS;\nUnderstand the impact cognition can have on persons with MS;\nConsider how cognition symptoms can be addressed in clinical settings
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-sarah-morrow/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250509T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250509T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240724T164833Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250416T182621Z
UID:14144-1746788400-1746792000@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Julie Lefebvre: Molecular strategies for wiring neurons into circuits
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nA critical step in neural circuit assembly is the integration of inhibitory interneurons with exquisite specificity in their numbers\, distribution and synaptic connectivity. Our lab aims to identify cellular and molecular mechanisms that generate interneuron diversity and specify their precise wiring patterns in retinal and brain circuits in mouse models. I will present our work on the roles of Cadherin superfamily recognition molecules in regulating inhibitory interneuron development and wiring\, as well as a toolkit we are developing to map trans-neuronal interactions and connectivity in vivo. 
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-julia-lefebvre/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250516T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250516T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20250107T183351Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250214T223626Z
UID:15212-1747393200-1747396800@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Cheryl Wellington: New CFI funded Core Facility
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nDr. Wellington will be introducing a new CFI funded Core Facility that will focus on fluid biomarkers relevant to clinical neurology and fundamental neuroscience.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-cheryl-wellington-2/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250530T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250530T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240503T164757Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250128T190851Z
UID:13308-1748602800-1748606400@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Pinar Ayata: Neurodegenerative functions of microglia in Alzheimer's disease
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nThe brain’s primary immune cells\, microglia\, are a leading causal cell type in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Yet\, the mechanisms by which microglia can drive neurodegeneration remain unresolved. Here\, we discover that a conserved stress signaling pathway\, the integrated stress response (ISR)\, characterizes a microglia subset with neurodegenerative outcomes. Autonomous activation of ISR in microglia is sufficient to induce early features of the ultrastructurally distinct “dark microglia” linked to pathological synapse loss. In AD models\, microglial ISR activation exacerbates neurodegenerative pathologies and synapse loss while its inhibition ameliorates them. Mechanistically\, we present evidence that ISR activation promotes the secretion of toxic lipids by microglia\, impairing neuron homeostasis and survival in vitro. Accordingly\, pharmacological inhibition of ISR or lipid synthesis mitigates synapse loss in AD models. Our results demonstrate that microglial ISR activation represents a neurodegenerative phenotype\, which may be sustained\, at least in part\, by the secretion of toxic lipids.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-pinar-ayata/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250606T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250606T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240325T190720Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250414T194322Z
UID:13111-1749207600-1749211200@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Charan Ranganath: The boundaries of memory: How cortico-hippocampal interactions at event boundaries support memory and prediction.
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nIn neuroscience\, episodic memory is depicted as a process of activating “engrams” in the hippocampus that provide a static and faithful record of the past. In reality\, behavioral research has established that human memory is dynamic and constructive\, such that we do not replay the past\, but rather\, we rely on prior knowledge about events\, along with a small amount of retrieved information to imagine how the past could have been. Drawing from this work\, I propose a radical alternative to the dominant view in systems neuroscience: Rather than recording every moment of experience\, the brain might reconstruct past events from prior knowledge and a small amount of event-specific information encoded at moments of high uncertainty or prediction error called “event boundaries”. Our data are consistent with the view that the hippocampus and neocortex serve as complementary learning systems\, with the former playing a role in recording snapshots of cortical activity at event boundaries\, and the latter involved in using prior knowledge to understand and reconstruct past events. Beyond episodic memory\, this division of labor might be computationally optimal for spatial navigation\, prediction\, and decision-making.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-charan-ranganath/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250613T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250613T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20240531T202837Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250609T234811Z
UID:13638-1749812400-1749816000@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Wafaa Zaaraoui: In Vivo ²³Na MRI: Unveiling Sodium Homeostasis in Brain Function and Neurological Disorders
DESCRIPTION:Zoom option if unable to attend in person:\nZoom link here (click on “Join a meeting”)\nMeeting ID: 91512 289258\nPasscode: 289258\n\nSodium (²³Na) MRI is a powerful tool for investigating sodium homeostasis in the brain\, offering a unique\, non-invasive method to study in vivo changes in sodium concentrations in both healthy and pathological conditions. Sodium plays an essential role in brain function by maintaining membrane potentials\, supporting cellular energy metabolism\, and regulating ion gradients – critical processes for neuronal activity and tissue integrity. Disruptions in sodium balance are recognized as key contributors to numerous neurological disorders\, making in vivo ²³Na MRI an innovative and highly valuable technique for advancing neuroscience research. \nThis presentation will emphasize the neuroscientific applications of in vivo ²³Na MRI\, particularly its capacity to reveal sodium imbalances associated with neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. I will focus on research in multiple sclerosis (MS)\, where altered sodium homeostasis has been explored as a promising biomarker of disease progression and its impact on motor and cognitive function. More broadly\, I will explore how in vivo sodium MRI enhances our understanding of brain pathophysiology and its potential role in a wide range of neurological disorders beyond MS.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-wafaa-zaaraoui/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250912T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250912T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20250417T180401Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250729T164603Z
UID:15834-1757674800-1757678400@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Bence Olveczky: Neural circuits underlying learned motor sequences.
DESCRIPTION:Our ability to sequence movements and actions in response to unpredictable environmental events underlies our rich and adaptive behavioral repertoire. Such flexible behaviors contrast with overtrained\, or automatic\, motor sequences directed at specific tasks and executed the same way every time. We probed how neural circuits underlie these distinct forms of motor sequence execution by training rats on a ‘piano task’ in which the same motor sequence can be generated in response to unpredictable cues or overtrained to the point of automaticity. By measuring and manipulating neural activity in motor cortex and sensorimotor striatum\, we delineate the logic by which these circuits combine to generate both flexible and automatic motor sequences.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-bence-olveczky/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250919T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250919T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20250417T181034Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250731T173317Z
UID:15838-1758279600-1758283200@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Matthew Hill: Amygdalar Regulation of Neuroendocrine and Behavioral Responses to Threat and Stress
DESCRIPTION:While the basolateral amygdala (BLA)  is known to be a highly stress sensitive region of the brain\, there is surprisingly little understanding of the role the BLA plays in the orchestration of a stress response. The first portion of this talk will focus on the role of the BLA in regulating neuroendocrine responses to stress\, and how differential projection neuron populations in the BLA are stress sensitive and have diverse anatomical organization. The second arm of this talk will examine the role of the BLA in modulating behavioral responses\, in a sex specific manner\, to a dynamic threat based environment with a robotic predator.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-matthew-hill/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250926T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250926T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20250417T180736Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250818T171918Z
UID:15836-1758884400-1758888000@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Andrienne Antonson: Blueprint for the Developing Brain: Cues from Microbes\, Myeloid Cells\, and the Maternal-Fetal Interface
DESCRIPTION:Emerging evidence suggests that key neurodevelopmental processes are shaped by immune and microbial signals during the prenatal period. My work is based on the premise that disruptions to these signals can alter neurodevelopmental trajectories and increase vulnerability to lifelong mental health disorders. Using a clinically translatable mouse model of maternal influenza infection\, we demonstrate that prenatal inflammatory insults compromise vascular integrity in both the placenta and fetal brain\, allowing bloodborne molecules to cross transplacental and blood-brain barriers. These changes are associated with cortical thinning\, altered fetal microglia and meningeal macrophage signaling\, and shifts in circulating maternal and fetal microbial metabolites. Together\, these findings highlight converging pathways through which maternal inflammation may influence fetal brain development and long-term psychiatric risk.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-andrienne-antonson/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20251003T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20251003T120000
DTSTAMP:20260418T192526
CREATED:20250417T181420Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250819T195406Z
UID:15841-1759489200-1759492800@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Erik Bloss: Synapse plasticity in learning and disease states
DESCRIPTION:Synapses are the computational subunits of the brain. They allow cell-type specific forms of information flow\, permit neurons to compartmentalize electrical and biochemical signals\, and undergo rapid structural plasticity during experience. Although Crick suggested spine plasticity was a correlate of memory more than 40 years ago\, it has been hard to understand precisely how the plasticity of spines drives cognitive function. We have examined this issue in two contexts: one in which mice are required to learn competing memory traces\, and one in which mice are engineered to express mutant amyloid as a model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). I will present unpublished data that suggest adaptive learning requires spine plasticity in specific cortical neurons\, at specific synaptic sites\, and in a sex-specific manner. In AD mice\, the loss of synapses appears to coincide with interference between memory traces. These results suggest new ways in which plasticity might support memory functions.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-erik-bloss/
LOCATION:Rudy North Lecture Theatre\, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health\, 2215 Wesbrook Mall\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6T 1Z3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Neuroscience Research Colloquium
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR