Dr. Tonegawa's lecture

The Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Susumu Tonegawa will give a lecture on Saturday September 6^th at 2 pm. The lecture will be held at Reykjavík University, Ofanleiti 2, room 101. The lecture is offered by the School of Science and Engineering at Reykjavík University in collaboration with ISfN.Abstract from the lecture is below.

Molecular, cellular, and circuit mechanisms for hippocampal learning and memory.

We study molecular, cellular, and neuronal circuit mechanisms underlying acquisition, consolidation and retrieval of hippocampus-dependent memory in rodents. Our primary approach is to generate cell type and adult-restricted knockout mice and characterize them using multifaceted methods including molecular and cellular biology, in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology, confocal and two photon microscopy and behavioral tasks. The data obtained to date indicate that NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic plasticity in area CA1 plays a pivotal role in special and other hippocampus dependent learning and memory. The same receptors and synaptic plasticity in area CA3 are dispensable for the acquisition of reference memory, but play an important role in “pattern completion”-the ability to recall an entire experience with limited recall cues as well as in one trial-based rapid learning. NMDA receptor function in dentate gyrus (DG) is also dispensable for reference memory, but is important in “pattern separation,” the ability to form distinct memories of similar events. These studies attest the power of this multi-faceted – genetic, physiological and behavioral – approach in understanding mechanisms underlying cognition.

Susumu Tonegawa has a PhD in molecular biology from the University of California, San Diego. He was a post-doc at Salk Institute and then joined the Basel Institute for Immunology. In 1981 he became a professor at MIT and started working at Center for Cancer Research. He is the founder of Center for Learning and Memory at MIT in 1994.

Dr. Tonegawa has received numerous awards for his research and received a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Taugavísindafélag Íslands vill minna á fyrirlestur nóbelsverðlaunahafans Susumu Tonegawa sem verður haldinn laugardaginn 6. september kl. 14.00-15.00 í húsakynnum Háskólans í Reykjavík, Ofanleiti 2, stofu 101. Fyrirlesturinn er í boði Tækni- og verkfræðideildar Háskólans í Reykavík í samstarfi við Taugavísindafélag Íslands.

Yfirskrift fyrirlestursins er "Molecular, cellular, and circuit mechanisms for hippocampal learning and memory" og útdrátt úr honum má sjá hér að neðan.

Abstract
We study molecular, cellular, and neuronal circuit mechanisms underlying acquisition, consolidation and retrieval of hippocampus-dependent memory in rodents. Our primary approach is to generate cell type and adult-restricted knockout mice and characterize them using multifaceted methods including molecular and cellular biology, in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology, confocal and two photon microscopy and behavioral tasks. The data obtained to date indicate that NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic plasticity in area CA1 plays a pivotal role in special and other hippocampus dependent learning and memory. The same receptors and synaptic plasticity in area CA3 are dispensable for the acquisition of reference memory, but play an important role in “pattern completion”-the ability to recall an entire experience with limited recall cues as well as in one trial-based rapid learning. NMDA receptor function in dentate gyrus (DG) is also dispensable for reference memory, but is important in “pattern separation,” the ability to form distinct memories of similar events. These studies attest the power of this multi-faceted – genetic, physiological and behavioral – approach in understanding mechanisms underlying cognition.

Susumu Tonegawa er með doktorspróf í sameindalíffræði frá háskólanum í Kaliforníu í San Diego. Hann var nýdoktor við Salk Institute en gekk síðan til liðs við Ónæmisfræðistofnunina í Basel (Basel Institute for Immunology). Árið 1981 varð hann prófessor í líffræði við MIT og hóf rannsóknir við Rannsóknarstofnun í krabbameinsfræðum (Center for Cancer Research). Hann stofnaði Center for Learning and Memory við MIT árið 1994.

Dr. Tonegawa hefur hlotið fjölmargar viðurkenningar fyrir rannsóknir sínar, þar á meðal fékk hann Nóbelsverðlaunin í lífeðlisfræði eða læknavísindum árið 1987.