Yi Juin Liew

PhD Proposal Presentation

Date: Friday, January 18, 2019

Time: 8 AM (Atlanta)/ 9 PM (Beijing)

Location: ES & T Conference Room-1387/ Video conference (Beijing, see below for connection info*)

Committee Members:

Garrett Stanley, Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech/Emory (Advisor)

Bilal Haider, Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech/Emory

Annabelle Singer, Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech/Emory

Michael Borich, Emory Rehabilitation Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech/Emory

Yong Zhang, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, PKU Health Science Center

Xiaojie Duan, Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech/Emory/PKU

Title: The timescale of adaptive dynamics within the thalamocortical circuit in vivo

A principal goal of neuroscience is to understand how the brain adapts to the environment to produce changes in perception and behavior. Bombarded with countless sensory stimuli in the surroundings, the nervous system is constantly adjusting its sensitivity to external stimuli. Such phenomenon is characterized by sensory adaptation, a hallmark property observed across different sensory modalities. Beyond a fatigue response, reduced response to repetitive stimulation was postulated to help neural system to encode more efficiently. While we understand that adaptive changes in the neural network are ongoing, we know very little about their underlying mechanisms across timescales. Previous work in our lab has suggested that thalamic synchrony plays an important role in gating sensory signals to the cortex in a short timescale. To extend this further, we will dissect different properties of sensory adaptation by applying a range of measurement and interrogation tools to the thalamocortical circuit of the mouse in-vivo across a range of timescales, and elucidate the role of the thalamus in mediating these properties.

In this project, simultaneous, multi-site electrophysiological recording in topographically aligned regions at multiple scales will be used to systematically characterize circuit dynamics across the thalamus and cortex of the mouse somatosensory pathway. Specifically, we will assess the time course of sensory adaptation and recovery in the anesthetized and awake mouse and determine the underlying mechanisms, through synaptic measures, optogenetic manipulation, and molecular interrogation. Success in this project will result in a framework to thoroughly examine activity-dependent changes in the thalamocortical network across timescales and reveal underlying mechanisms that link dynamical circuit response to information processing within the neural circuit in vivo. A comprehensive understanding of mechanisms and properties of adaptation will have substantial applicability to clinical intervention as they can be harnessed for restoring lost function.

To join the Meeting: https://bluejeans.com/257875246