Killam Seminar Series: Encoding Dopamine Signals in Striatal Circuits

Grâce à la générosité des fiducies Killam, Le Neuro convoque lors d’une série de séminaires des conférenciers d’exception dont les travaux passionnent ses chercheurs et ceux de l’Université McGill. 

Pour assister en personne, inscrivez-vous ici

Pour regarder via Vimeo, cliquez ici

Christopher Ford

Professeur, Département de pharmacologie, Université du Colorado.

Hôte: austen.milnerwood [at] mcgill.ca (Austen Milnerwood)

Abstract: Ford's lab examines how neuromodulators are encoded in the mesolimbic and nigrostriatal systems and how circuit dysfunctions in these areas contribute to neurological and psychiatric disorders. Dopamine, acetylcholine and serotonin play key roles in the basal ganglia and nucleus accumbens, controlling a variety of motivated behaviors including decision-making, action selection, motor skill learning, habit formation and reward processing. The lab uses a combination of electrophysiology, 2-photon imaging, optogenetics, genetically encoded optical sensors, electrochemistry, in vivo fiber photometry and behavioral approaches to study how transmission mediated by these neuromodulators are encoded within mesolimbic and nigrostriatal circuits. By identifying the mechanisms regulating signaling Ford's lab aims to identify the disruptions in these systems that underlie psychiatric disorders such as drug addiction and schizophrenia and neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.