Neuroscientists Talk Shop

On August 31, 2023 we got a chance to talk to Lindsey Macpherson on the functional organization of the taste buds, taste cells, and the primary afferent neurons of taste in the geniculate and petrosal ganglia. Lindsey has joined our discussion several times in the past, but this time we discuss her own experimental work on the taste system. Guest: Lindsey Macpherson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Participating: Bryan Fowler, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA acknowledgement: JM Tepper for original music

On August 24, we met with Mike Mauk to talk about the importance of timing in learned movements, and the granularity of the representation of time in the cerebellar cortex. This was Mike's second time on the podcast. We talked to him previously in September, 2008. To listen to that podcast, go to episode 16 of the audio-only podcasts, on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/neuroscientists-talk-shop/id279181187), or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/0Aq8iLa3MWb1utTzcdI5vp). Guest: Michael Mauk, Professor, Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin. Participating: Joshua Goldberg, Department of Neuroscience, Hebrew University, Israel Francesco Savelli, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA

On February 5, 2009, we were joined by Allison Doupe, who was Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Physiology at the University of California San Francisco. Allison talked with us about the value of learned birdsong as a model for sensory and motor learning, the brain circuitry responsible for learning, remembering and controlling the song, and the importance of variability in adapting the song to changes in animal state or the environment. Somehow, that conversation was never posted. I encountered it while searching through old files looking for something else, and just recently heard it for the first time. It is a wonderful conversation with a creative and insightful neuroscientist, and the information is still current, so I am posting it now. Stay on after the podcast to listen to an outtake containing a conversation between Allison and Michael Farries on the pallium, the functional equivalent of the cerebral cortex birds, and whether birds do or do not have a cerebral cortex. Guest: Allis

On April 27, we met with Kara Federmeier to talk about brain mechanisms of human semantic processing. We discussed the role of meaning in human language comprehension and production, in comparison to that of large language models like ChatGPT, which presumably do not know what they are saying. Guest: Kara Federmeier, Professor, Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience and The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois. Participating: Nicole Wicha, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Antonio Allevato, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA

On April 13, 2023 we met with Steve Chang to learn about brain mechanisms for social decision making - deciding to share or not to share, acting on another's behalf, and learning by watching what others do. Guest: Steve Chang, Associate Professor of the Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience at Yale University. Participating: Tony Burgos-Robles, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA. Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA.

On March 29, 2023 we spoke with Jayeeta Basu about the level of autonomy exercised by neuronal dendrites in synaptic integration, the factors that control coupling between dendrites and the soma, and the possible role of dendritic processing in generating the responses of neurons. Guest: Jayeeta Basu, Assistant Professor, Neuroscience Institute, the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, and the Department of Psychiatry at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine. Participating: Francesco Savelli, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA. Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA. Paper mentioned during the discussion: Bilash OM, Chavlis S, Johnson CD, Poirazi P, Basu J. Lateral entorhinal cortex inputs modulate hippocampal dendritic excitability by recruiting a local disinhibitory microcircuit. Cell Rep. 2023 Jan 31;42(1):111962.

On March 9, 2023 we spoke with Lauren Dobbs about the relationship between dopamine receptors and opiate peptide co-transmitters in the striatum, and implications for the mechanisms of action of cocaine and opiate drugs. Guest: Lauren Dobbs, Assistant Professor, Departments of Neuroscience and Neurology, University of Texas at Austin. Participating: Matt Wanat, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA.

On March 2nd, 2023 we got a chance to talk to Carmen Canavier, from LSU Health in New Orleans. This is Carmen's second time on the podcast.  Her previous visit was in 2015 (Episode 127), and she talked to us about the dynamics of dopamine neurons.  This time she shared her insights on theta and gamma oscillations and spike timing in the entorhinal cortex.  Guest: Carmen Canavier, Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy, LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine. Participating: Francesco Savelli, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA. Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA.

On February 23, 2023 we spoke with Zoé McElligott about alcohol, the difficulties encountered trying to understand its effects on the brain and the origins of alcohol use disorder. Guest: Zoé McElligott, Bowles Center of Alcohol Studies Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, UNC Chapel Hill Participating: Matt Wanat, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA

On February 16, 2023 we got a chance to chat with Rakez Kayed on the tau protein, the key constituent in neurofibrillary tangles that are seen in the brain in Alzheimer's disease, and present in many other kinds of neurodegeneration.  He answered our questions about what tau protein is, how it is changed in neurodegenerative diseases, and what might be done about it. Guest:   Rakez Kayed, Professor in the Department of Neurology and the George and Cynthia Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston Texas. Participating:  George Perry, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host:  Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA

On December 1, 2022, we got the opportunity to talk to Shannon Macauley about the multiplicity of causes and effects in the etiology of Alzheimers Disease, and her experimental work on the contributions of sleep patterns, age, blood and brain glucose and lactate, and insulin.  Guest: Shannon Macauley, Associate Professor in the Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology, and the Sticht Center for Healthy Aging and Alzheimer's Prevention, at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Participating: Melanie Carless, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Uchit Bhaskar, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA

On November 17, 2022 we talked with Susan Sangha about brain mechanisms of learned fear and safety, and the neural circuits in the amygdala, cerebral cortex and hippocampus that evaluate threat and mediate our responses to it. Guest: Susan Sangha, Department of Psychiatry at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Stark Neuroscience Research Institute. Participating: Anthony Burgos-Robles, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA

On November 3rd, 2022 we talked with Harold Zakon about the cells that enable weakly electric fish to generate electric fields around themselves and to use them as a sensory and social communication system.  Harold described the remarkable independent evolution of this capability twice, in the African and in the South American electric fish, and the host of coordinated genetic changes that were required to create this entirely new sensory modality. Host Harold Zakon, Departments of Neuroscience, and Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin Participating Todd Troyer, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA

On October 27, 2022 we got the opportunity to talk to Michael Scofield about methods used to study the structure and synaptic function of astrocytes, and some of the advances that have resulted from their use, especially for glutamatergic synapses in the cerebral cortex. Guest:  Michael Scofield, Departments  of Neuroscience and Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine at Medical University of South Carolina. Participating: Matt Wanat, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host:  Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA

On Thursday, October 20, we held our 13th annual Neuroscience Symposium.  The topic was organoid models of cortical development.  Brain organoids are 3-dimensional tissues grown from pluripotent stem cells. For studying cortical development, the stem cells are cultured under conditions that promote differentiation into cerebral cortex neurons.  The participants in the symposium spoke on the use of organoids as a model to study human cortical development and disorders of development.   After the symposium, the speakers met for a panel discussion, which was recorded. Participating: Jenny Hsieh, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Giorgia Quadrato, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California Vanesa Nieto-Estevez, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Fikri Birey, Emory University School of Medicine Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA

On October 13, 2022 we sat down to chat with Mel B. Feany about the molecular processes underlying the neuropathology of alpha-synuclein and Parkinson's disease. We focused on her findings implicating the actin cytoskeleton as an intermediary in mitochondrial dysfunction and other cellular mechanisms that contribute to pathology and cell death. Guest:  Mel B Feany, Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Participating: Chris Gamblin, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Hyoung-gon Lee, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA

On Thursday, October 6, 2022 we got the opportunity to talk to Nicolas Tritsch about his studies of oscillatory fluctuations in dopamine and acetylcholine measured simultaneously in the striatum during behavior. We started from the technical side of this new experimental technology, but the conversation ranged into the implications of these oscillations for striatal function and learning, and for Parkinson's disease. Guest: Nicolas Tritsch, Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience & Physiology and the Neuroscience Institute at the New York University School of Medicine. Participating: James Jones, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host: Charles Wilson Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA

On Thursday, September 8, 2022 we were joined by Genaro Coria-Avila, to talk about sexually dimorphic nuclei in the brain, other forms of brain sexual dimorphism, and their relation to sexual behavior. Guest: Dr. Genaro Coria-Avila, Genaro is a research scientist at the Brain Research Institute at the Universidad Veracruzana  in Xalapa, Mexico. Participating: Fidel Santamaria, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology UTSA Daniela Monje, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology UTSA Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology UTSA

August 25, 2022 Andrew Maurer joined us to talk about the language used by hippocampal neurons to communicate with each other and with other cells in the brain.  The conversation started by referring to last month’s retrospective of the John Lisman podcast from long ago, but ranged over a number of other topics, including the future prospects for understanding brain dynamics from electrophysiological recordings. Guest:  Andrew Maurer, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Florida. Participating:  Francesco Savelli, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA James Jones, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA Host: Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSA The previous podcast to which we refer is episode 247, John Lisman Retrospective

Wednesday, July 27, 2022 On Thursday March  6, 2008 we recorded episode 9 of Neuroscientists talk Shop.  Our guess was John Lisman, from Brandeis University. We enjoyed a 50 minute discussion with John that touched on a range of topics. This  retrospective summary of that conversation has been heavily edited for linearity, and the topics have been thinned out somewhat.  John's unique perspective is evident throughout, and although this was 14 years ago, most of the topics still seem current and John's insights into the process of discovery are still valuable for us today. Guest:  John Lisman, Zalman  Abraham Kekst Chair in Neuroscience and Professor of Biology and of the  Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University. Participating: Brian Derrick, Dept. of Biology, UTSA David Senseman, Dept. of Biology, UTSA Todd Troyer, Dept. of Biology, UTSA Charles Wilson, Dept. of Biology, UTSA Host: Salma Quraishi, Dept. of Biology, UTSA