ELSC Seminar Series

Experience from the environment is represented by neuronal activity patterns in the brain. Inside neurons, complex protein signaling cascades provide the molecular instructions for structural and functional plasticity. Despite the importance of activity dependent signaling for learning and brain development, we still lack a clear understanding of their spatial and temporal activity within intact neuronal circuits.

In my talk, I will describe an approach to visualize protein signaling dynamics using a combination of biosensor engineering and two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging (2pFLIM). I will first describe how I previously used this approach to monitor the activity of CREB, a transcription factor vital for synaptic plasticity, and identified how sensory experience shapes the interplay between CREB and neuronal activity. I will then describe current ongoing projects in the lab to develop optical tools to study several important protein targets. These pathways regulate critical features such as maintenance of E/I balance during development, genomic integrity, or synaptic structure. Our major goal is to understand how key protein signaling networks orchestrate the development and function of neuronal circuits in the healthy brain. We believe this is an essential first step towards identifying the seed process initiating neuronal dysfunction in a variety of pathological conditions such as autism, cognitive decline and neurodegeneration