Neuroscientists Talk Shop

On May 2, 2024 we spoke with Skirmantas Janusonis on the peculiar morphology and spatial distribution of the serotonin innervation of the brain, and his idea that it can be described using the mathematics of fractional Brownian motion. We consider the kind of developmental mechanisms that could be responsible. Guest: Skirmantas Janusonis, Associate Professor, Department of Psychological and Brain...

On April 25, 2024, we met with the 5 speakers for this year's Annual Neuroscience Symposium at UTSA to discuss epigenetics and nervous system development. We discussed the best known molecular mechanisms that control patterns of gene expression and current limitations faced in studies of those mechanisms. We also discussed the promise of epigenetics to explain the differentiation of nervous sy...

On April 18, 2024 we spoke with Nancy Philp about the blood supply to the retina and the cells and membrane transporters that deliver glucose and lactate to photoreceptors and other cells for glycolytic and aerobic metabolism. Guest: Nancy Philp, Professor, Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical School, Thomas Jefferson University Participating: Erica Tatiana Camacho,...

On April 4, 2024 we had a chance to talk to Kara Marshall about the membrane protein PIEZO2, which is responsible for sensory transduction of many of the mechanical senses, including light touch, vibration, and proprioception. We especially focused on its function in sensing internal pressure and movement, including bladder pressure and blood pressure. Guest: Kara Marshall, Assistant Professor, De...

On March 21, 2024, we spoke with Dennis Sparta on the complexity of brain circuitry and strategies for dissecting out the contributions of different brain areas engaged in reward and in alcohol use. Guest: Dennis Sparta, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Chicago. Participating: Marina Silveira, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology,...

On March 7, 2024, we were joined by Lynn Dobrunz to talk about brain circuits underlying anxiety and PTSD, and the role of neuropeptide Y modulation of glutamate transmission in the hippocampus and amygdala. Guest: Lynn Dobrunz, who is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology and Director of the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center,...

On February 29, 2024 we got to talk to Dwight Bergles about the cellular mechanism that generates spontaneous activity in auditory receptors before the onset of hearing, and the function of that activity in development of appropriate circuitry throughout the auditory pathway. Guest: Dwight Bergles,Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, and Otolaryrngology-Head &...

On February 22, 2024 we talked with Janko Gospocic about changes in gene expression associated with changes in social status in a fascinating species of ants. Guest: Janko Gospocic, Assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry and Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences at UT Southwestern University Participating: Lacy Barton, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biol...

On February 15, 2024 we talked with Yarimar Carrasquillo on acute and chronic pain, and the brain circuits responsible for self-maintaining pathological chronic pain. Guest: Yarimar Carrasquillo, Investigator, Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity at the NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Participating: Lindsey Macpherson,Department of Neuroscience...

On February 8, 2024, we met with Josh Neunuebel, to discuss his work on ultrasonic vocalization during mouse social behavior. We discussed his method for experimental compilation of the range of socially used vocalizations, and determining their behavioral meanings. Guest: Josh Neunuebel, Associate Professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware. Participating: Al...

On February 1, 2024, Lori Holt joined us to talk about categorical perception of speech (and some other) sounds, how they are learned and the brain mechanisms responsible for them. Guest: Lori Holt, Professor of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin Participating: Nicole Wicha, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Marina Silveira, Department of Neuroscience,...

On January 25, 2024 we spoke with Michael Long about vocalization, language and conversation from birds to humans. We discuss what can be learned from birdsong, warbling in parrots, singing mice, and human conversation. Guest: Michael Long, Thomas Suzanne Murphy Professor of Neuroscience and Physiology and Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at the New York University School of Medicine....

On January 19, 2024 we talked with Itamar Lerner on the complex relationship between sleep and learning, the phases of sleep, and kinds of learning. Guest: Itamar Lerner, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, UTSA Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Thanks to James Tepper for original music.

On November 30, 2023 we spoke with Rebecca Shansky on the brain circuits responsible for fear learning, the errors we make as we simplify measurement to make behavioral experiments practical, and the future of behavioral science. Guest: Rebecca Shansky, Professor, Department of Psychology, Northeastern University Participating: Matt Wanat, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative...

On November 27, 2023 we had the special opportunity to chat with Erica Korb about the nucleosome - the histone protein and DNA structure that controls the availability of genes for transcription. She explained about replication dependent and replication independent histone variants and the special demands on and features of the nucleosome of neurons. Guest: Erica Korb, Assistant Professor of Genet...

On November 9, 2023 we talked to Anne West about promoters, transcription factors and histones for controlling gene expression in neurons during development and adulthood. Guest: Anne West, Professor of Neurobiology and Cell Biology, Duke University Participating, Alexey Soshnev, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Developmental Biology, UTSA Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscie...

On November 2, 2023 we spoke with Allan Gulledge on the function of neuromodulation and neuromodulators, especially acetylcholine, in the cerebral cortex. We asked him about their role is cortical signal processing and state changes in the circuit. Guest: Allan Gulledge, Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College Participating: David Jaffe, Departmen...

On October 26, 2023 we spike with Ben Clark about the construction and properties of a cognitive map in the brain. We considered the existing data on cellular responses that have been described in the cortex, thalamus and hippocampus, and how cells with those responses could be part of a system that is used to map space. Guest: Ben Clark, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University o...

On October 19, 2023 we spoke with MacKenzie Howard on the genetics and neurophysiology of Dravet syndrome, a severe genetic and developmental form of epilepsy. We learned how the a single genetic mutation can lead to a cascade of physiological defects during development. Guest: MacKenzie Howard, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Neuroscience and the Center for Learning and Me...

On September 28, 2023 we spoke with Jose Rodriguez-Romaguera about measuring arousal and its role in motivated behavior. Guest: Jose Rodriguez-Romaguera, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, Cell Biology and Physiology, and Applied Physical Sciences, University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Participating: Tony Burgos-Robles, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Re...

On September 21st, 2023, we spoke with Tianyi Mao about improved methods for studying the spatial organization of connections between brain regions. This is Tianyi's second appearance on Neuroscientists Talk Shop. The previous one was Episode 35, from 14 years ago, in September 2009 Guest Tianyi Mao, Scientist, Vollum Institute, Oregon Health Sciences University Participant James Jones, Depart...

On September 14 we spoke with Carrie Cuttler on experimental studies of the cognitive effects of chronic cannabis use and acute cannabis intoxication. She explained some of the obstacles that exist in the study of the effects of cannabis on the nervous system and on behavior, and on the current status of our knowledge in this area. Guest: Carrie Cuttler, Associate Professor, Department of Psycholo...

On August 31, 2023 we got a chance to talk to Lindsey Macpherson on the functional organization of the taste buds, taste cells, and the primary afferent neurons of taste in the geniculate and petrosal ganglia. Lindsey has joined our discussion several times in the past, but this time we discuss her own experimental work on the taste system. Guest: Lindsey Macpherson, Department of Neuroscience, De...

On August 24, we met with Mike Mauk to talk about the importance of timing in learned movements, and the granularity of the representation of time in the cerebellar cortex. This was Mike's second time on the podcast. We talked to him previously in September, 2008. To listen to that podcast, go to episode 16 of the audio-only podcasts, on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ne...

On February 5, 2009, we were joined by Allison Doupe, who was Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Physiology at the University of California San Francisco. Allison talked with us about the value of learned birdsong as a model for sensory and motor learning, the brain circuitry responsible for learning, remembering and controlling the song, and the importance of variability in adapting t...