Download Dr. Carlos Paladini

INMED Conference room
Monday 16th November 2015 - 11 a.m
Dr. Carlos Paladini
Invited by: Dr.Pascale Chavis University of Texas at San Antonio UTSA Neurosciences Institute Department of Biology One UTSA Circle San Antonio, TX 78249
[email protected]
The dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta, located
within the ventral mesencephalon, encode perhaps one of the most important
signals for reinforcement learning in the brain: reward prediction error. This
signal is encoded by the firing pattern of dopaminergic neurons, which controls
the release of dopamine at target regions. Specifically, transient, impulsedependent release of dopamine, driven by bursts of action potentials, is critical
for natural processing in the brain. Disruptions of dopamine function result in
many of the symptoms of a wide range of psychiatric diseases, drug addiction,
and in the extreme case of the degeneration of these cells, to Parkinson's
Disease, including many of its cognitive aspects. Identification of the mechanism
responsible for bursts is a key step in understanding the mechanism of
reinforcement learning, but has so far proven elusive. This is largely due to the
difficulty in accurately duplicating bursts under controlled experimental
conditions such as those attainable during in vitro experiments. Our lab has
developed methods to induce bursts in vitro by manipulating identified afferents
and astrocytes.
Parc Scientifique de Luminy 163 Avenue de Luminy 13273 MARSEILLE Cedex 09