Page 21 - Abacoa Community News - February '25

Abacoa, Page 21
science on tHe cutting edge

Jupiter, Florida 33458. Admission and parking are free. This week, a research team led by Dr. Anant Jain, Dr.
Reservations are required, as seating is limited Yoshihisa Nakahata, and Scientific Director Dr. Ryohei
CONTACT: Register and learn more about speakers by Yasuda identified key aspects of how BTSP works in
visiting Wertheim.scripps.ufl.edu/innovationlectures/ or by neurons, reporting their years-long study into this critical
calling the reservation line at (561) 228-3000. model of plasticity.
The Wertheim UF Scripps the project, “Understanding the precise molecules and
Dr. Yasuda describes the team’s motivation for
Institute Announces Brain mechanisms that neurons use to encode information is critical

Health Public Lectures for understanding brain function and health. Research in this
area has primarily focused on traditional plasticity models,
which may be less relevant to learning during experience. It
is critical to explore the molecular mechanisms that underlie
Extended Timing: How new plasticity models, such as BTSP.”
The team’s first hurdle was modeling BTSP in isolated

Neurons Encode Information brain tissue, where they could precisely measure the
resulting neuronal changes. The researchers were able to
On Timescales That Match trigger BTSP by inputs separated by ~1 second, confirming
the extended integration time of information storage. The
Learning team also found that BTSP occurs at single synapses, a
property critical for specificity in information coding. By
New research from the Max Planck Florida Institute combining electrophysiological measurements of neuronal
WHAT: The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for for Neuroscience published this week in Nature has activity with specialized microscopy and biosensors, the
Biomedical Innovation & Technology announces its 2025 identified a key step in how neurons encode information team could visualize real-time molecular changes that
Innovation Lecture series, two public panel discussions on timescales that match learning. occurred during BTSP to determine their role.
in Jupiter focused on exploring new discoveries about the A Timing Mismatch CaMKII: Same Player, Different Role
brain and brain health. Learning takes The research team focused on a molecule called
WHEN: The first lecture, “Healing the Brain,” takes seconds to minutes. CaMKII, which is well-known for its critical role in many
place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. Experts on Howe ve r , t he types of plasticity in neurons.
autism, learning and memory, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s be st -unde rst oo d “We hypothesized that CaMKII would be critical for
and other types of dementia, will describe their latest mechanisms of how BTSP. This molecule is activated at synapses and can remain
research discoveries about brain health across the lifespan. the brain encodes active for many seconds. It seemed the perfect candidate
The second lecture, “Outsmarting Cancer II: Defeating information happen at to be the key player in extending the time window of
Brain Cancer,” takes place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April speeds closer to neural information integration in neurons,” described Dr. Jain.
23, 2025. Researchers will discuss recent advances and activity—around “Well, it turns out that we were right – CaMKII was critical
discoveries about one of the most fast-moving forms of 1,000 times faster. for BTSP, but we were completely wrong about its role.”
brain cancer, glioblastoma. These mechanisms, When the research team disrupted the function of
Special thanks go to “Healing the Brain” preview known as Hebbian CaMKII, BTSP was disrupted. Wanting to visualize the
reception sponsor Palm Health Foundation and WPBF 25, plasticity, suggest CaMKII activity in neurons during the BTSP process, the
whose longtime news anchor, Tiffany Kenney, will serve that if two connected group optimized a biosensor to report when CAMKII was
as moderator for both lectures. neurons are both active within a hundredth of a second, then active. Using this newly optimized sensor, with nearly two-
WHERE: The 2025 Innovation Lectures will take the connection between the two neurons is strengthened. In fold improved sensitivity over previous tools, the scientists
place at the institute’s headquarters, 120 Scripps Way, this way, information arriving at connected neurons within could measure CAMKII activity during BTSP. However,
this short time window can be linked. However, during they didn’t find what they expected.
behavior, information that needs to be encoded together Contrary to their hypothesis, they found no detectable
is often separated by seconds to minutes. How, then, can CaMKII activation during BTSP induction. Instead, a
neurons integrate information on timescales relevant to delayed and stochastic activation of CaMKII occurred
learning? tens of seconds after initiating BTSP. In addition, while
Recently, a new neural model of information encoding the plasticity was happening at a specific synapse, CaMKII
called behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity (BTSP) was active in a much larger area of the neuron. The research
addressed this discrepancy by demonstrating that neurons revealed that CaMKII is an instructive signal for BTSP
can integrate information over seconds, a timescale but does not define the synapse specificity of plasticity. It
consistent with behavior. Indeed, during behaviors such suggests a broad time window for synaptic plasticity and a
The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute brings together many as navigation, neurons encode specific locations through new model of how synapse-specific and instructive signals
great minds to address pressing biomedical challenges, BTSP. However, the molecular mechanisms of how neurons can integrate over tens of seconds.
including brain disorders and diseases. implement BTSP were unknown. “This is a paradigm shift in our view of CaMKII function
and our understanding of plasticity mechanisms. The activity
of CaMKII throughout the dendrite reveals that it does not
Susan Has Moved To A define synapse specificity of plasticity, but rather is involved
in dendritic information processing. Our results have opened
many more questions for further investigation, including
New Location! what defines the specificity of information coding at single
synapses or the time-delay in CAMKII activation,” describes
Dr. Jain. “The surprising findings underscore the importance
Androcles Hair Salon of behaviorally relevant models of information encoding
in the brain to reach our ultimate goal of linking molecular
activity to memory formation and preventing neurological
4031 Hood Rd., Suite C-108 disorders involving learning and memory dysfunction.”
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410 Jain, A., Nakahata, Y., Pancani, T. et al. Dendritic, delayed,
stochastic CaMKII activation in behavioral time scale
Susan plasticity. Nature (2024). https://www.nature.com/articles/
s41586-024-08021-8
About The Max Planck Florida Institute For Neuroscience
Swafford is dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the brain by
The Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience
advancing our understanding of neural circuits and synaptic
plasticity. Researchers at the institute focus on how neurons
561-312-0457 communicate and adapt, contributing to learning, memory,
and behavior.
This research was funded by the National Institute of
Heath and the Max Planck Society. This content is solely the
10% authors’ responsibility and does not necessarily represent
the official views of the funders.

OFF Advertise, Check out our website!

Tues. www.seabreezepublications.com

Products starting at 69
$
New clients only or call (561) 746-3244