Join us for the 2021 Phillip A. Sharp Lecture in Neural Circuits

Differential Resilience of Neurons and Networks to Perturbation

Eve Marder, Brandeis University

Abstract: Both computational and experimental results in single neurons and small networks demonstrate that very similar network function can result from quite disparate sets of neuronal and network parameters.  Using the crustacean stomatogastric nervous system, we now study the influence of these differences in underlying structure on differential resilience of individuals to a variety of environmental perturbations, including changes in temperature, pH, potassium concentration and neuromodulation.  We show that neurons with many different kinds of ion channels can smoothly move through different mechanisms in generating their activity patterns, thus extending their dynamic range. 

Biography: Eve Marder is currently the Victor and Gwendolyn Beinfield Professor of Neuroscience at Brandeis University. Her research gave key insights into rhythmic motor pattern generation, neuromodulation, homeostatic regulation of neurons and networks, and the use of the dynamic clamp. Marder is a past president of the Society for Neuroscience, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Biophysical Society. Marder is also a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Neuroscience Forum and a member of the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NANDS) Council.

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://mit.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uNARVdP7Q_ORbx0MohGtPQ