Month: November 2024

Hiroki R. Ueda, MD, PhD (University of Tokyo, Japan) will present a seminar titled “Towards Human Systems Biology of Sleep/Wake Cycles: The Role of Calcium and Phosphorylation in Sleep” on Monday, November 18, 2024, 10:00 am, in the UW Life Science Building, Room 401.

Abstract: Sleep is regulated by a homeostatic mechanism that increases sleep pressure as wakefulness hours progress. While this process of sleep regulation has been recognized for decades, the neural mechanism behind it has been elusive. While much of the search for the sleep homeostat has focused on “sleep substances” Dr. Ueda’s focus on “wakefulness substances” led to the discovery of the role of calcium and calcium-dependent phosphorylation in sleep homeostasis, and a novel and more holistic model on the role of sleep and wakefulness on synaptic plasticity.

The University of Washington Computational Neuroscience Center will host a seminar by Carl Petersen on November 20, 2024.  A trainee lunch with Carl will be held directly after the seminar in the CNC (G207)

Carl Petersen
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)

Location: Foege S-060
Date/Time:  November 20, 2024; 12pm – 1pm

Seminar Title:  “Context- and learning-dependent sensorimotor transformation”

Precisely-wired neuronal circuits process sensory information in a learning- and context-dependent manner in order to govern behavior. Simple whisker-dependent sensory decision-making tasks in mice reveal contributions of distinct cell types and brain regions participating in the conversion of sensory information into goal-directed licking motor output through reward-based learning. Task learning appears to be accompanied by target-specific routing of sensory information to specific downstream brain regions in a context-dependent manner. An important challenge for the future is to understand in further detail the brain-wide neural circuit mechanisms connecting cell type-specific processing of sensory information with the motor neurons ultimately responsible for goal-directed action initiation and motor control.