Tag: hippocampus

InterviewsLeave a comment

“Memory is built on concept neurones”

PRBB Communications

So, here’s the interview to Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, who came recently to give a talk at the PRBB. The title “The Jenifer Anniston neurone” was interesting… the content was much more so! This interview was published in the PRBB monthly newspaper, Ellipse. You can also read an earlier post about his talk here. Figuring out how the brain works is the obsession of Rodrigo Quian, professor at the University of Leicester (UK). This challenge led him to apply his physics training and a PhD in maths to neuroscience. With the discovery of the “Jennifer Aniston neurone”, or concept cells, it … Continue reading “Memory is built on concept neurones”

Scientific imagesLeave a comment

The New Cajal Era

PRBB Communications

More than 100 years have passed after the first contributions made by Santiago Ramón y Cajal to the neural network theory. Nowadays neuroscientists take advantage of innovative tools to study neural circuits in order to understand complex behaviours. This image by David D’Amico, from the group on neurobehavioral phenotyping of mouse models of disease at the CRG, shows the hippocampus of a transgenic mouse expressing yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) in specific subsets of central neurons. This type of tansgenic mice help scientists to understand neural networks in both physiological and pathological conditions. Continue reading The New Cajal Era

Talks and eventsLeave a comment

The Jennifer Aniston neuron

PRBB Communications

No, we don’t mean to say that Rachel from “Friends” has only one nerve cell… This was the title of the talk Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, from the University of Leicester, gave at the PRBB a couple of weeks ago. This physicist did a PhD in maths and then turned to neuroscience, something that fascinates him. “I can see you. Isn’t this amazing?”, he said to start the talk. As the Chilean researcher said, we can all remember and have emotions. How do neurons do that? This is what Quian Quiroga has been trying to understand for the last 10 years, … Continue reading The Jennifer Aniston neuron

Scientific imagesLeave a comment

Effects of cannabis on the hippocampus

PRBB Communications

Effects of cannabis at the hippocampus In this image provided by Emma Puighermanal (Neuropharmacology lab, UPF) and obtained by Xavier Sanjuan, from the microscopy service of the UPF, shows a cut of the hippocampus of a mouse. It has been labelled against the kinase p-p70S6K (red), the dendritic marker MAP2 (blue) and the cannabinoide receptor CB1 (green). After administering Δ9-tetrahidrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of marijuana, the signalling pathway for mTOR/ p70S6K is activated in the hippocampus. This pathway is responsible for the amnesic effects of cannabis. Continue reading Effects of cannabis on the hippocampus