Seminars are open to all visitors and start Monday at 16:00 sharp. Coffee and tea will be served from 15:45. The seminar series lectures are in a colloquiumzaal at the third floor (entrance level) of the Faculty building of Erasmus MC.
Eric Klann
Translational Control in Synaptic Plasticity, Memory, and Mental Retardation
| 2009-04-06 | Room: Ae 406 |
A requirement for de novo protein synthesis is one of the hallmarks of long-lasting synaptic plasticity and long-term memory. Recent studies, including several from our laboratory, have identified signaling cascades that couple neurotransmitter and neurotrophin receptors to the translation regulatory machinery in the hippocampus during synaptic plasticity and memory. In this presentation I will discuss the role of these translation regulatory mechanisms, in particular the mTOR signaling pathway, in protein synthesis-dependent synaptic plasticity and memory. Synaptic plasticity and memory phenotypes in genetically engineered mice that display altered mTOR signaling also will be discussed. These studies have revealed interesting links between mTOR signaling, synaptic plasticity, memory, and behavior. These studies also have provided insight into the molecular basis of certain types of mental retardation and autism.