How do the over 85 billion neurons in the brain communicate with each other? And how does this communication form the basis for our thoughts, language and memory?
The theme of this track is the brain and its cells on the cellular, molecular and synaptic levels. Learn how new techniques allow us to visualise the brain at different levels – from the smallest molecules and individual structures in the cell to the entire brain. New advances in stem cell technology today make it possible to repair and regenerate brain tissue. The track will also give you a better understanding of the role played by individual molecules and neurotransmitters in certain brain diseases, for example migraines and Rett’s syndrome, and their implications for new treatments.
Time: Thursday May 5 at 13.15-14.45
Auditorium: Merethe Barker
To understand brain function, we must visualise the brain structures, the individual cells within them and the specific proteins expressed in these cells. The technical approaches employed to enable science to obtain such structural information are rapidly advancing. Some of these advanced techniques will be presented in the session ’Visualisation of the brain’, which will demonstrate brain imaging at different structural levels, ranging from whole brain to specific proteins expressed in the cell membranes of brain cells.
Chair:
Nanna MacAulay, Professor, University of Copenhagen
Speakers:
Sarang Dalal, Professor, Aarhus University
Making Movies of the Functioning Human Brain with Magnetometers
Valentin Nägerl, Professor, University of Bordeaux
NanoMatters: Super-Resolution Imaging of Brain Cells at Work
Poul Nissen, Professor, Aarhus University
Molecular Mechanisms of Transport and Signaling in the Brain
Flash talks by:
Nanna Møller, PhD Student, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University
Josephine Dannersø Nissen, PhD student, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University
Time: Thursday May 5 at 15.20-16.50
Auditorium: Merethe Barker
In order to fully grasp how the brain is formed and how the degenerating brain can be rebuilt, methods are required that allow us to produce and manipulate human neurons. Reprogramming of patient-derived skin cells to pluripotent stem cells and subsequently to human neurons has advanced our understanding of disease mechanisms and opened new therapeutic avenues. This stem cell technology is in constant development, and is now so advanced that it is possible to produce artificial miniaturised human brains, so-called brain organoids, in a culture dish. This session will describe recent progress in the generation of human neurons and brain organoids and show how this technology can be used in regenerative medicine.
Chair:
Anders Nykjær, Professor, Aarhus University
Speakers:
Mark Denham, Associate Professor, Aarhus University
Creating Miniature Brains from Stem Cells
Thomas Willnow, Professor, Aarhus University
Why Eat Your DHA - Brain Lipids and Alzheimer Disease
Jay Gopalakrishnan, Professor, Heinrich-Heine-University
Human Brain Organoids to Model Mechanisms of Development and Degeneration
Flash talks by:
Caroline Real, Postdoc, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University
Thea Pinholt Lillethorup, Postdoc, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University
Time: Friday May 6 at 10.30-12.00
Auditorium: Samfundsmedicinsk
Molecules are coupled to different brain disorders. This workshop will take you on a journey where you can hear about genetic risk factors for different neuropsychiatric disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. There will be a presentation on how disturbances in one of the brain neurotransmitters, the dopamine transporter, can be associated with neurological diseases such as parkinsonism. An example of the functional organisation of the brain at the molecular level will be demonstrated by showing how cells in the retina of the eye can transform sensory input into specific control of eye movements.
Chair:
Jørgen Kjems, Professor, Aarhus University
Speakers:
Ditte Demontis, Associate Professor, Aarhus University
Genetics of Externalizing Childhood Psychiatric Disorders
Freja Herborg, Assistant Professor, University of Copenhagen
Dopamine Transport Dysfunction in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Parkinsonism
Keisuke Yonehara, Associate Professor, Aarhus University
Linking Neural Circuit Asymmetries to Eye Movement Disorders
Flash talks by:
Laura Øllegaard Johnsen, PhD student, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University
Majken Borup Thomsen, Postdoc, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University
Time: Friday May 6 at 13.15-14.45
Auditorium: Samfundsmedicinsk
Synaptic plasticity is widely believed to be critical for forming memory traces. Much memory encoding, perhaps most, is automatic – it just happens. Most information disappears within short time because of a decay in activity-dependent synaptic plasticity. Molecular mechanisms such as catecholamines play a role in consolidating memory traces so that they are retained. Another aspect of memory concerns its role in affective states. In a rodent model it will be shown how abnormal neuromodulation through cholinergic signaling can promote the reactivation of aversive memories in ambiguous situations. This could lead to maladaptive cognitive and behavioral generalisation typical of negative affective states.
Chair:
Sadegh Nabavi, Associate Professor, Aarhus University
Speakers:
Richard Morris, Professor, University of Edinburgh
The Retention of Everyday Memory
Marco Capogna, Professor, Aarhus University
GABAergic Neuron Diversity for Brain Function in Health and Disease
Jelena Radulovic, Professor, Aarhus University
Stress-induced Generalization of Fear: Molecular and Circuit Mechanisms
Flash talks by:
Asami Tanimura, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University
Macarena Gomez de Salazar, Postdoc, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University
