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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health | DMCBH
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250321T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20250321T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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:20260419T014303
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
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20251024T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20251024T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20250417T181954Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250815T203832Z
UID:15845-1761303600-1761307200@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Nicolas Tritsch: Dopamine and Movement: Defining Timescales of Modulation
DESCRIPTION:Ever since the discovery that the degeneration of midbrain DA neurons (mDANs) projecting to the striatum underlies bradykinesia (i.e.\, slowness of movement) in Parkinson’s disease (PD)\, DA has become synonymous with motor vigor. However\, the mechanisms through which DA contributes to the speed and amplitude of individual voluntary movements are still debated. Initial investigations suggested a somewhat slow or permissive role for DA\, but recent experiments in rodents proposed a stronger and faster role for DA in the dynamic control of the gain of motor commands. In this presentation\, I will describe our attempts at better understanding how dopamine contributes to motor vigor through the study of release patterns\, lesions\, and optogenetic and pharmacological manipulations. Our findings call into question the widely-held view that phasic fluctuations in extracellular dopamine control the vigor of ongoing movements\, constraining the kinds of mechanisms and timescales that dopamine likely acts on to modify behavior. \n 
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-nicolas-tritsch/
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:20251031T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20251031T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20250423T203759Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251003T162242Z
UID:15873-1761908400-1761912000@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Michael Yellow Bird: The Power of Ceremony: Indigenous Contemplative Practices\, Neurodecolonization\, and the Medicine Wheel
DESCRIPTION:Indigenous contemplative practices and teachings have enabled Indigenous Peoples to develop an important paradigm of healing that has important implications for western medicine and health care providers who work with Indigenous Peoples. In this presentation\, Dr. Michael Yellow Bird uses Indigenous wisdom and western science to show how Indigenous contemplative approaches can create important changes in the brain and body and can prevent\, heal\, and cure\, many emotional and physical diseases brought about by colonization and the current Western industrial lifestyle.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-michael-yellow-bird/
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:20251107T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20251107T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20250617T142822Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251006T192819Z
UID:16170-1762513200-1762516800@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Bruce Pike: MRI Guided Transcranial Focused Ultrasound
DESCRIPTION:The integration of MRI and transcranial focused ultrasound represents a disruptive technology that has many potential applications.  This seminar will provide an overview of a new research program I established in this area that has three major research themes: neurosurgery\, drug delivery\, and neuromodulation.  Methods\, applications\, and progress in each of these areas will be reviewed and future research opportunities highlighted.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-bruce-pike/
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:20251205T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20251205T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20250506T192333Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251031T161409Z
UID:15942-1764932400-1764936000@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Jean-Claude Béique: A tale of serotonin’s value: from release dynamics to behavioral regulation
DESCRIPTION:Our lab seeks to gain granular descriptions of synaptic\, neuronal and network dynamics in the brain. To this end\, we use a combination of in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology\, two-photon imaging/uncaging\, optogenetics and behavioral approaches\, and use computational simulations to coalesce these levels of analysis in tractable interpretations. I will present results from ongoing work aimed at identifying unifying roles for the neuromodulator serotonin. I will show data supporting the idea that serotonin neurons located in the raphe encodes an estimate of cumulative future rewards\, a quantity referred to as value in reinforcement learning. We further identified unsuspected network organization and serotonin release dynamics in the raphe that\, collectively\, impart highly non-linearly processing features of long-range synaptic inputs and behavioral regulation. Collectively\, this work is beginning to identify elemental computations that may be involved in animal’s ability to optimally adapt their behavioral policies to changing environmental contexts.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-jean-claude-beique/
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:20260116T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20260116T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20250417T182454Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251212T181128Z
UID:15847-1768561200-1768564800@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang: Longitudinal neurodevelopmental correlates of mid-adolescents’ psychosocial processing: A path to young adult wellbeing?
DESCRIPTION:Combining open-ended interviews (outside the scanner) with structural\, trial-by-trial\, and resting-state functional MRI neuroimaging\, we examined real-time functional neural dynamics underlying diverse urban mid-adolescents’ cognitive and emotional engagement with compelling social stories at two time-points\, two years apart. We found that the patterns of longitudinal change in neural network dynamics predicted psychosocial outcomes five years later in young adulthood. \nWe found that “transcendent thinking” – seeing situations not just in terms of X happened to person A\, which makes me feel thusly\, but in terms of the larger societal and contextual forces that shaped how Person A was treated and how Person A reacted\, the broader implications and lessons one can draw from that situation\, and the larger issues it exemplifies or reveals—correlated with a particular set of neural activity dynamics and predicted future structural and functional neural development across the subsequent two years\, controlling for the starting state of neural development\, and independent of IQ and SES. Transcendent thinking also countered negative effects of exposure to community violence on structural brain development. \nThe neural development predicted by transcendent thinking (the changes in the brain across the 2-year period) in turn predicted young adult identity strength\, self-liking\, relationship satisfaction\, and achievement 5 years later. \nThese findings reveal a novel predictor of neural development across mid-adolescence\, and underscore the active role adolescents play in their own brain development through the meaning they make of the social world.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-mary-helen-immordino-yang/
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:20260123T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20260123T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20260112T183928Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260113T200922Z
UID:17279-1769166000-1769169600@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Milan Valyear: Rewards\, errors\, and the disentangling of striatal functions.
DESCRIPTION:Successful pursuit of reinforcers requires the generation of predictions and evaluation of outcomes. Midbrain dopamine neurons and their projections to the striatum are thought to be critical for these processes. Here\, we will consider two narratives: dopamine as a reward signal and dopamine as an error signal. Then we will examine the extent to which these\, and other narratives\, can be disentangled using new optical tools.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-milan-valyear/
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:20260130T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20260130T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20250716T191232Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251215T165932Z
UID:16353-1769770800-1769774400@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:UBC Kickstart Updates
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/ubc-kickstart-updates/
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:20260206T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20260206T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20250417T182834Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251212T180900Z
UID:15849-1770375600-1770379200@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Donna Rose Addis: The Prospective Brain: Past and Future
DESCRIPTION:The human brain has the remarkable capacity to transport the self into the past and future. While previously thought of as distinct functions\, recent research has shown that memory for past events and imagination of future events rely on the same brain networks. In this talk\, I will present neuroimaging and neuropsychological research demonstrating the overlap between remembering and imagining\, the unique properties of our ability to foresee the future\, and how these abilities are affected by memory impairment.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-donna-rose-addis/
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:20260213T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20260213T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20250722T192617Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251215T165850Z
UID:16412-1770980400-1770984000@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:UBC Kickstart Updates
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/ubc-kickstart-updates-4/
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:20260220T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20260220T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20260127T200607Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260217T213857Z
UID:17341-1771585200-1771588800@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Sheena Josselyn: Engrams and Memory in Mice
DESCRIPTION:Understanding how the brain encodes\, stores\, and uses information is a central goal of neuroscience. Many neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders\, including autism spectrum disorder\, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)\, and Alzheimer’s disease\, may arise from disrupted information processing. Thus\, uncovering the neural mechanisms by which information is represented in the brain is not only key to understanding normal cognition but also essential for developing targeted therapeutic strategies. \nMemory can be defined as the persistence of internal representations acquired through experience\, and the capacity to reconstruct these representations across time. The enduring physical changes in the brain that encode such information are referred to as engrams. Although the idea of a physical memory trace can be traced back to ancient Greek philosophy\, it was not formally articulated until 1904 when Richard Semon coined the term engram. Despite this long conceptual history\, identifying the precise neural substrates of an engram has proven remarkably difficult\, in part because memory is encoded across multiple levels; from epigenetic and synaptic modifications to coordinated patterns of neuronal ensemble activity. \nOur laboratory seeks to understand how specific neurons are recruited\, or allocated\, to a given engram\, and how membership within these neuronal ensembles may evolve with time\, plasticity\, or new learning. By combining molecular\, imaging\, and behavioral approaches in mice\, we aim to link changes in neuronal excitability and network dynamics to the stability and flexibility of memory representations. In my lecture\, I will describe our historic and recent findings toward mapping and manipulating memory engrams in the mammalian brain\, and discuss their implications for understanding both healthy and disordered memory.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-sheena-josselyn/
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:20260227T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20260227T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20250707T185555Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260107T211904Z
UID:16291-1772190000-1772193600@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Leah Mayo: Lost in translation? Exploring the endocannabinoid system as a novel pharmacotherapeutic target in PTSD
DESCRIPTION:Dr. Mayo will talk about studies involving animal-to-human translational work highlighting how endocannabinoid function regulates stress reactivity and fear learning\, leveraging human behavioral pharmacology and neuroimaging. She will also highlight outcomes from a recent clinical trial exploring how augmenting cannabinoid function impacts clinical\, behavioral\, and neural measures in people with PTSD.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-leah-mayo/
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:20260306T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20260306T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20250417T183425Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260122T232417Z
UID:15851-1772794800-1772798400@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Cris Niell: Neural circuits for natural vision
DESCRIPTION:Natural visual processing entails a complex interplay between sensory input\, behavioral context\, and on-going brain dynamics. Our lab seeks to understand how these processes give rise to goal-directed visual behaviors\, by exploring the neural circuits mediating ethologically relevant behaviors that laboratory mice perform\, including prey capture and distance estimation. We are also implementing novel experimental approaches to investigate neural coding of the visual scene as animals freely move through their environment. Finally\, I will present a new research direction studying the completely different\, yet largely unexplored\, visual system of the octopus.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-chris-niell/
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:20260313T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20260313T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20250417T184754Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251217T173617Z
UID:15853-1773399600-1773403200@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Keri Martinowich: Spatially-resolved molecular approaches for understanding human brain circuits and disease vulnerability
DESCRIPTION:This talk will highlight recent efforts to generate and analyze spatially resolved molecular datasets to better understand structure–function relationships in the human brain\, particularly in the context of complex brain disorders. While single-cell and single-nucleus sequencing approaches have rapidly advanced our ability to define molecularly distinct cell populations\, these methods often lack the spatial and circuit context necessary to interpret how cells interact within intact brain tissue. I will describe integrative strategies that combine spatial transcriptomics\, single-cell genomics\, and data-driven computational approaches to define molecularly distinct spatial domains within human brain regions\, map cell–cell and circuit-level interactions across these domains\, and identify enrichment of disease-associated molecular profiles in specific cellular and spatial contexts. Across examples from cortical and subcortical circuits\, these approaches provide a framework for understanding how molecular heterogeneity is organized in space and how this organization may confer selective vulnerability in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disease.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-keri-martinowich/
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:20260320T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20260320T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20250801T201011Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T232607Z
UID:16498-1774004400-1774008000@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Stephan Lammel: Neural Dynamics of Dopamine Neurons in Motivated Behavior
DESCRIPTION:Despite decades of research on the properties of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons\, the precise information encoded by these cells in reward learning and motivated behavior remains uncertain. In this talk\, I will describe recent work investigating two distinct modalities of the midbrain dopamine system at different levels of investigation. First\, I will present work leveraging an approach that combines Neuropixels recordings and optogenetics to examine dopamine neurons at the single-cell level. In conjunction with computational modeling\, we explored the neural dynamics of dopamine subpopulations across different VTA subregions in mice performing a reward-seeking task. Second\, I will discuss a neural mechanism that explains why a chronic high-fat diet paradoxically diminishes the desire for high-fat\, sugary foods\, even when these foods are easily accessible. We found that this reduction in desire is attributed to decreased neurotensin signaling from nucleus accumbens inputs to dopamine neurons in the lateral VTA. We propose that restoring this desire\, either through dietary modifications or by enhancing neurotensin expression and release\, can drive changes in eating behavior and promote weight loss. Together\, our experiments are geared towards developing comprehensive frameworks for understanding dopamine’s diverse roles in behavior.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-stephan-lammel/
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:20260327T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20260327T120000
DTSTAMP:20260419T014303
CREATED:20260310T170903Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T170912Z
UID:17542-1774609200-1774612800@www.centreforbrainhealth.ca
SUMMARY:Dr. Zachary Pennington: An amygdala-hypothalamic circuit gates stress vulnerability.
DESCRIPTION:There is substantial individual variability in how individuals respond to stress\, and a major predictor of this variance is the prior experience of stress. Here\, I’ll share data showing that prior stress inflates negative valence signals in an amygdala-hypothalamic circuit and increases stress vulnerability.
URL:https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/events/dr-zachary-pennington/
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