Killam Seminar Series: Unique Molecular Regulation of Prefrontal Cortex Confers Vulnerability to Cognitive Disorders

The Killam Seminar Series at The Neuro

Supported by the generosity of the Killam Trusts, The Neuro’s Killam Seminar series hosts outstanding guest speakers whose research is of interest to the scientific community at The Neuro and McGill University.

Registration is available now on Eventbrite. ZOOM link sent to registrants.

Vimeo (livestreaming) https://vimeo.com/event/266553

Speaker: Dr. Amy Arnsten

The Arnsten lab studies molecular influences on the higher cognitive circuits of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), in order to understand mechanisms affecting working memory at the cellular and behavioral levels, with the overarching aim of identifying the actions that render the dlPFC so vulnerable in cognitive disorders. Her lab has shown that the dlPFC has unique neurotransmission and neuromodulation compared to the classic actions found in the primary visual cortex, including mechanisms to rapidly weaken PFC connections during uncontrollable stress. Reduced regulation of these stress pathways due to genetic or environmental insults contributes to dlPFC dysfunction in cognitive disorders, including calcium dysregulation and tau phosphorylation in the aging association cortex. Understanding these unique mechanisms has led to the development of a new treatment, IntunivTM, for a variety of PFC disorders.

The event will be live streamed via VIMEO.