Download Name in Chinese：劉福清 Name in English：Fu

Name in Chinese：劉福清
Name in English：Fu-Chin
Liu
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Education：Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ph.D., 1991
Affiliation：Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University
Title：Professor
Tel：2826-7216
Fax：2820-0259
My Personal Homepage：http://www.ym.edu.tw/nsi/teacher/Liu.html
E-mail：[email protected]
Fields of Specialty：Neural development, Neural plasticity, Neuroscience
Research Description：
My laboratory is devoted to study neural development and plasticity of the
basal ganglia circuits in the mammalian forebrain. The striatum is the major input
component of the basal ganglia circuits. What makes the striatum an attractive
and important system for neurobiological study is its involvement in processing
multiple dimensions of neurological function ranging from movement, cognition
and reinforcement to plasticity of learning and memory. The importance of the
striatum is also reflected in a number of neurological disorders including
Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, schizophrenia and mood disorders
whose pathogeneses involve either degeneration or malfunction of the striatal
system. The study of development and function of the striatum is thus
fundamentally important not only to the understanding of integrative brain
function, but also to the development of therapeutic approach to neurological
diseases.
The long-term goal of our research is to elucidate how the infrastructure of
the basal ganglia circuits is built to function and adapt to neural plastic changes in
the brain. Our strategic approach is to identify the genetic programs underlying
neurogenesis, neuronal specification and differentiation in the basal ganglia
during development. To this end, we have identified striatum-enriched
transcription regulators (Nolz-1, RAR/RXR, Isl-1, Six3, Foxp2) and receptor
tyrosine kinase signaling molecules (NRG/ErbB4) that may be involved in neural
development and plasticity of the basal ganglia system. We are currently
analyzing different lines of gene knockout mice by cellular and molecular biology
techniques. We also perform whole cell patch clamp recording of neuronal
activity in brain slices with near-infrared videomicroscopy. Notably, our recent
work of the gene regulation of Foxp2 in the developing striatum has led us to
studying the neurobiological basis of speech and language. We are also
approaching the neurobiological basis of schizophrenia, a complex
neurodevelopmental disorder, based on our study of NRG/ErbB4 signaling in
GABAergic interneurons of the forebrain.
It is hoped that by identifying and characterizing the striatum-enriched
transcriptional regulators and associated signaling molecules, we may gain insights
into the neural mechanisms by which the basal ganglia circuits are built to function
and adapt to environmental challenge. Our work also may bear clinical potential,
as identification of growth factor-associated molecules may provide information
for treating neurodegenerative diseases.
Selected Recent Publication：
1. Liu F-C, Takahashi H, McKay RDG, Graybiel AM (1995) Dopaminergic
regulation of transcription factor expression in organotypic cultures of developing
striatum. J Neurosci 15:2367-2384.
2. Liu F-C, Graybiel AM (1996) Spatiotemporal dynamics of CREB
phosphorylation: Transient versus sustained phosphorylation in the developing
striatum. Neuron 17:1133-1144.
3. Liu, F-C, Graybiel AM (1998) Region-dependent dynamics of cAMP response
element-binding protein phosphorylation in the basal ganglia, Proc Natl Acad Sci
USA 95:4708-4713.
4. Wang H-F, Liu F-C (2001) Developmental restriction of the LIM homeodomain
transcription factor Isl-1 expression to cholinergic neurons in the striatum.
Neuroscience 103:999-1016.
5. Yau H-J, Wang H-F, Lai C, Liu F-C (2003) Neural development of the neuregulin
receptor ErbB4 in the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus: preferential
expression by interneurons tangentially migrating from the ganglionic eminences.
Cerebral Cortex 13:252-264.
6. Takahashi K, Liu F-C, Hirokawa K, Takahashi H (2003) Expression of Foxp2, a
gene involved in speech and language, in the developing and adult striatum.
J. Neuosci. Res. 73:61-72.
7. Liu F-C (2003) Organotypic culture of developing striatum: Pharmacological
induction of gene expression. In: Neurological Reviews and Protocols: Drugs of
Abuse, Humana Press, Totowa, New Jersey, pp.405-412.
8. Chang C-W, Tsai C-W, Wang H-F, Tsai H-C, Chen H-Y, Tsai T-F, Takahashi H, Li
H-Y, Fann M-J, Yang C-W, Hayashizaki Y, Saito T, Liu F-C (2004) Identification
of a developmentally regulated striatum-enriched zinc-finger gene, Nolz-1, in the
mammalian brain. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101:2613-2618.