Special Lectures | Symposia | Education Program
Cajal Club | Platform Sessions | Poster Sessions

CAJAL CLUB KRIEG CORTICAL KUDOS 2002 AWARDS-Sunday, April 21, 8:30-11:30 a.m., Rooms 201/202
Krieg Cortical Discover Awardees:
David Van Essen, Ph.D. (Washington Univ., St. Louis, School of Medicine)
'Mapping Structure and Function in Cerebral Cortex: A Cortical Cartographer's View of the Past, Present and Future'
Abstract
My laboratory uses anatomical, physiological, and computational approaches to study primate cerebral cortex, especially visual cortex.  This presentation will emphasize our efforts in computerized cortical cartography, where the broad objectives are to (i) map cortical structure and function in individuals; (ii) map data onto atlases while respecting individual variability; and (iii) analyze interspecies similarities and differences in cortical organization.  Surface reconstructions and surface-based atlases are key to this effort, as they aid greatly in dealing with complex cortical convolutions.  The potential of this approach will be illustrated using surface-based atlases for cerebral and cerebellar cortex in mouse, macaque, and human.  Utilization of these web-accessible atlases with a growing set of visualization and analysis tools should accelerate our understanding of cerebral cortex, which in many respects is as rudimentary as that of 17^th-century cartographers striving to map the earth. s surface. 

Thomas Woolsey, M.D. (Washington Univ., St. Louis, School of Medicine)
'Whiskers and Barrels'
Abstract
 Mapping the brain to understand its function has long been a central theme for what is now called neuroscience/neurobiology.  Functional localization led to the discovery of a visible body map in somatosensory cortex of the mouse. The map is comprised of multicellular units . called barrels . many of which are related directly to whiskers on the opposite side of the animal that are part of modular cortical columns (found in all mammals including man).  Advantages of this pattern for studies of the function, development, and plasticity of the central nervous system in rodent models have been amply demonstrated. Other work has uncovered the mechanism for activity based changes in cerebral blood flow that are the bases for functional imaging studies in humans.  The richly detailed information now available on the whisker/barrel system opens doors to studies of genes in nervous system development and function, several models of and treatments for diseases afflicting the brain and relationships between brain function and behavior. Some examples will be discussed.
Supported in part by The Spastic Paralysis Foundation of Illinois Eastern Iowa District of the Kiwanis International.

Krieg Cortical Explorer Awardees
László Acsády, Ph.D. (Institute for Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences)
'A Unique Gyrus--Unusual Properties of Neocortex-Archicortex Interface'
Abstract
Dentate gyrus is a peculiar one-way relay station that transmits neocortical information to the Ammon. s horn of hippocampal formation. This evolutionary conserved region possesses a number of distinguishing characteristics not found in any other cortical region. Here I propose that these features are specialized to translate neocortical firing pattern to archicortical activity that can be used by subsequent stations of hippocampal trisynaptic loop. The unique wiring system of the dentate gyrus results in one of the strongest inhibitory control of principal cells in cortical systems. The recruitment of inhibition by granule cells is facilitated by two wiring characteristics. First, granule cells innervate more inhibitory than excitatory neurons, second, innervation of hilar interneurons by basket cells are exceptionally sparse. Strong inhibitory action is necessary to produce sparse, discrete neuronal coding. Indeed, the dentate gyrus appears to transform the noisy spatial signal of the entorhinal cortex into the most discrete spatial code in the hippocampal formation. I suggest that the strong activation of inhibitory circuits in the dentate gyrus is optimized to convert a denser cortical code into a sparse hippocampal representation.

Gábor Tamás, Ph.D. (Univ. of Szeged, Hungary)
'Processing of Convergent Information in Identified Cortical Networks'
Abstract
How cortical neurons integrate inputs and how neuronal output reflects input activity are key questions for the explanation of cortical function. To address the rules of input summation experimentally, we simultaneously recorded from three neocortical neurons in vitro and investigated the effect of the subcellular position of two convergent inputs on the response summation in the common target cell. When scattered over the postsynaptic dendrites, combination of coincident excitatory and/or inhibitory synaptic potentials summed linearly. Slightly sublinear summation was observed when convergent inputs targeted closely placed sites on the postsynaptic neuron. The kinetics and the degree of linearity of summation also depended on the type of connection, the relative timing of inputs and on the activation state of I_h. The results suggest that, when few inputs are active, the majority of afferent permutations undergo linear integration, maintaining the importance of individual inputs. However, compartment and connection specific nonlinear interactions between synapses located close to each other could increase the computational power of individual neurons in a cell type specific manner.

Krieg Cortical Scholar Award:
Michelle Adams, Ph.D. (Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Brown Univ.)
'The Aging Synapse: Preservation and Alterations in Synaptic Proteins'
Abstract
Endocrine and neural senescence converge in the hippocampus, particularly with respect to the glutamatergic synapse. For example, dendritic spine density in CA1 increases with estrogen (E₂) treatment in young animals, but there is an overall loss of spines in the aged hippocampus, that is not reversible with E₂. NMDA antagonists block increases in spine density, suggesting a role for glutamate receptors (GluRs) in regulating morphological plasticity. Thus, we examined changes in the distribution of synaptic proteins that might be under the influence of age and E₂, including GluRs and the estrogen receptor alpha (ER-a). Our data indicated that while spine density decreases in the aged hippocampus, GluR levels are relatively preserved in the aged brain. However, synaptic plasticity manifested at the level of the GluR is regulated differently in the aged as compared to the young hippocampus. Also, there are age-related changes in ER-a that may underlie the attenuated aged spine response, particularly to E₂-induced plasticity. Thus, the aged synapse may be different from the young synapse in several key respects that impact plasticity, particularly endocrine influences on the synapse.

THE NISSL BODY'S POSTER SESSION-Sunday, April 21, 12:30-2:00 p.m., Rooms 201/202
Chair: John Morrison, Ph.D. (Mt. Sinai School of Medicine)

PRESIDENTIAL SYMPOSIUM - THE ENTORHINAL CORTEX: CROSSROADS BETWEEN NEO- AND ARCHICORTEX-Sunday, April 21, 2:30-5:00 p.m., Rooms 201/202
Chair: Charles Ribak, Ph.D. (Univ. of California, Irvine)
Summary
The entorhinal cortex sits adjacent to the hippocampus and has extensive projections with this structure and the neocortex. It has  been shown to play a role in the formation of new associative memories and to degenerate in certain neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy. Speakers will discuss the normal connections and organization of the entorhinal cortex paying particular attention to the roles of projection neurons in different layers of this structure; the changes in neuronal activity within the entorhinal cortex during a behavioral task performed by monkeys; the pathology observed after epilepsy and its relationship to excitatory neurotransmitters; and the appearance and chemical composition of neurofibrillary tangles, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, within neurons of entorhinal cortex.

Speakers:
Wendy Suzuki, Ph. D. (New York Univ.)
'Memory Signals in the Macaque Monkey Entorhinal Cortex'
Angel Alonso, Ph.D. (Montreal Neurological Institute)
'Mechanisms and Function of Oscillatory Activity in Entorhinal Cortex'
Patrick Hof, M.D. (Center for Neurobiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine)
'The Entorhinal Cortex in the Early Stages of Alzheimer's Disease: Comparison with the Neo Cortex'
Robert Schwarcz, Ph.D. (Maryland Psychiatric Research Center)
'Entorhinal Excitement and Epilepsy'

Pinckney J. Harman Memorial Lecture - Sunday, April 21, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Room 206
Carla J. Shatz, Ph.D. (Dept. of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School)
'Neural Activity, Immune Genes and Synaptic Remodeling in Brain Development'
Abstract
Connections in the adult CNS are highly precise.  In the visual system, retinal ganglion cells connect to target LGN neurons in adjacent, non-overlapping eye-specific layers.  During development, retinal inputs are intermixed and the layers emerge as axons from the two eyes remodel.  Remodeling requires ganglion cell  action potentials, which  are endogenously generated in utero long before rods and cones are present: ganglion cells fire spontaneously and synchronously, generating 'waves' of activity that sweep across retinal domains.  Waves are also required for regulation of gene expression by LGN neurons, including Class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC I).  In mice lacking cell surface class I MHC, or CD3 zeta, development of the retinogeniculate projection is abnormal and adult mice have supranormal hippocampal LTP and lack LTD.  Thus, these molecules are required for normal activity-dependent structural and functional synaptic modifications.  These observations indicate that long before visual experience, nerve cell function is essential for activity-dependent gene expression and for the initial structural remodeling that leads ultimately to the adult precision of connectivity.

Platform Sessions
Presentations selected from submitted abstracts.
*Langman Semi-finalist

CELL SIGNALING IN MUSCULOSKELETAL DIFFERENTIATION-Monday, April 22, 10:45 a .m.-12:45 p.m., Room 204
Chair: Mark Nathanson, Ph.D. (UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School)

Speakers:
M. Nathannson (UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School)
R.L. Jilka (Univ. of Arkansas for Medical Sciences)
Q. Chen (Penn State College of Medicine)
D. Sassoon (Mount Sinai School of Medicine)
B.L. Martin (Univ. of California at Berkley)
M.P. Ontell (Univ. of Pittsburgh School of Medicine)
R. Welikson (Univ. of Washington)

CELL SIGNALING IN SENSORY SYSTEMS-Tuesday, April 23, 8:15-10:15 a.m., Room 205
Co-chairs: Judy Garner, Ph.D. and Hans-Jurgen Fulle (Keck School of Medicine at USC)

Speakers:
H.J. Fulle (Keck School of Medicine at USC)
R.H. Kramer (Univ. of California, Berkley)
F. Kalinec (House Ear Institute)
*B.A. Puder (Northeastern Ohio Univ. College of Medicine)
A. Caicedo (Univ. of Miami School of Medicine)

CELL SIGNALING IN VASCULAR SYSTEMS-Wednesday, April 24, 8:15-10:15 a.m., Room 205
Chair: Charles Little, Ph.D. (Univ. of Kansas Medical Center)

Speakers:
G.E. Davis (Texas A&M Univ. System Health Science Center)
C. Little (Univ. of Kansas Medical Center)
R. Lansford (Caltech)
S.M. Majka (Baylor College of Medicine)
A.R. Hess (Univ. of Iowa)
R.J. Tomanek (Univ. of Iowa)
J.D. Potts (Univ. of South Carolina)

DEVELOPMENTAL CONTROL OF TRANSLATION & ADENYLATION-Monday, April 22, 8:15-10:15 a.m., Room 205
Chair: Rebecca Hartley, Ph.D. (Univ. of Iowa)
Supported by an educational grant from Promega Corp.

Speakers:
E. Goodwin (Univ. of Wisconsin)
C. Smibert (Univ. of Toronto)
H.B. Osborne (CNRS/Univ. of Rennes 1)
M.R. Garbrecht (Univ. of Iowa College of Medicine)
M. Sheets (Univ. of Wisconsin)

ENTERIC NERVOUS SYSTEM AND CONTROL OF FOOD INTAKE-Wednesday, April 24, 8:15-10:15 a.m., Room 204
Chair: Ayman Sayegh, D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D. (College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing & Allied Health, Tuskegee Univ.)

Speakers:
T.L. Powley (Purdue Univ.)
G.P. Smith (Weill Medical College, Cornell Univ.)
M. Covasa (Pennsylvania State Univ.)
E. Adeghate (United Arab Emirates Univ.)
A.I. Sayegh (Tuskegee Univ.)
M. Gershon (Columbia Univ., College of Physicians & Surgeons)

GENE EXPRESSION MONITORING & 3D-VISUALIZATION-Tuesday, April 23, 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m., Room 205
Chair: Johannes Streicher, Ph.D. (Univ. of Vienna, Austria)

Speakers:
J. Streicher (Univ. of Vienna, Austria)
W.J. Weninger (Univ. of Vienna, Austria)
J. Sharpe (MRC Human Genetics Unit)
J. Jernvall (Univ. of Helsinki)
R. Lansford (Caltech)
G. Cheng (Medical Univ. of South Carolina)
J.F. Ji (National Univ. of Singapore)

GLIOGENESIS IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM - Tuesday, April 23, 3:30-5:30 p.m., Rooms 201/202
Chair: Mahendra Rao, MBBS, Ph.D. (National Institute on Aging)

Speakers:
M.S. Rao (National Institute on Aging)
R.H. Miller (Case Western Reserve Univ.)
J.E. Goldman (Columbia Univ.)
M. Qui (Univ. of Louisville)
D.A. Steindler (Univ. of Florida College of Medicine)
J.A. Kessler (Northwestern Univ. Medical School)
J. Dietrich (Univ. of Rochester)

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT I- Monday, April 22, 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m., Room 205
Chair: Judith Venuti, Ph.D. (LSU Health Science Center)
Supported by educational grants from BD Biosciences and Clontech

Speakers:
K. Muneoka (Tulane Univ.)
E. Laufer (Columbia Univ.)
C.E. Krull (Univ. of Missouri-Columbia)
*P.H. Ozdinler (Louisiana State Univ. Health Science Center)
*S. Horne-Badovinac (Univ. of California, San Francisco)
C. Zhang (Texas A&M Univ.)
M.J. Hudson (Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County)
*P.Kang (Baylor College of Dentistry)

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT II- Monday, April 22, 3:30-5:30 p.m., Room 205
Chair: Patrick Nahirney (Weill Medical College, Cornell Univ. )

Speakers:
*D.K. Lawrence (Case Western Reserve Univ.)
G.S. Ghatnekar (North Carolina State Univ. College of Veterinary Medicine)
R.L. Leonard (North Carolina State Univ. College of Veterinary Medicine)
*K.S. Latacha (Univ. of Nebraska Medical Center)
P.C Nahirney (Weill Medical College, Cornell Univ.)
A.F. Lerch-Gaggl (Medical College of Wisconsin)
J.T. Rawlins (Texas A&M Univ. System Health Science Center)
L. Li (Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham)

STEM CELL BIOLOGY - Saturday, April 20, 2:00-4:00 p.m., Rooms 201/202
Chair: Maya Sieber-Blum, Ph.D. (Medical College of Wisconsin)

Speakers:
M.S. Rao (National Institute on Aging)
A. Alexanian (Medical College of Wisconsin)
B.A. Link (Medical College of Wisconsin)
Y.H. Youn (Medical College of Wisconsin)
L. Song (Univ. of North Carolina School of Medicine)
M.V. Gurjar (Univ. of Iowa)
T.C. Lund (Univ. of Minnesota)

TEACHING INNOVATIONS IN ANATOMY -Monday, April 22, 10:45 am.-12:45 p.m., Room 206
Co-chairs: Richard Drake, Ph.D. (Univ. of Cincinnati College of Medicine) and Douglas Paulsen, Ph.D. (Morehouse School of Medicine)

Speakers:
T. Caceci (Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech)
J.R. Augustine (Univ. of South Carolina School of Medicine)
P.M. Heidger, Jr. (Univ. of Iowa)
D.K. Darnell (Lake Forest College)
S.A. Miller (Hamilton College)
D. Leamon (Univ. of South Carolina)

TEACHING INNOVATIONS IN ANATOMY -Tuesday, April 23, 8:15-10:15 a.m., Room 206
Co-chairs: Richard Drake, Ph.D. (Univ. of Cincinnati College of Medicine) and Robert Klein(Univ. of Kansas Medical Center)

Speakers:
J.H. Johnson (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.)
T.R.H. Bacro (Medical Univ. of South Carolina)
R.E. Reeves (Univ. of North Texas Health Science Center)
T.O. McCracken (Visible Productions, LLC)
D.A. Morton (Univ. of Utah School of Medicine)
S. Lozanoff (Univ. of Hawaii)
B. Singh (Univ. of Saskatchewan)

TGF-BETA IN HEART & VASCULAR DEVELOPMENT-Tuesday, April 23, 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m., Room 204
Chair: Raymond Runyan, Ph.D. (Univ. of Arizona College of Medicine)

Speakers:
K.L. Kramer (Univ. of Utah)
E. Mironova (Univ. of South Carolina School of Medicine)
P.B. Antin (Univ. of Arizona)
V. Gaussin (UMDNJ)
J.V. Barnett (Vanderbilt Univ. Medical Center)
R. Runyan (Univ. of Arizona College of Medicine)
M. Azhar (Univ.of Cincinnati Medical Center)
D. Walpita (Harvard Medical School)

Poster Sessions

ANATOMICAL COMPARISON OF FORM & FUNCTION
Sunday, April 21

ANATOMICAL VARIATION
Sunday, April 21

ANIMAL MODELS OF DISEASE
Tuesday, April 23

BONE & CONNECTIVE TISSUE
Tuesday, April 23

CARDIOVASCULAR
Tuesday, April 23

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
Sunday, April 21

IMAGING & MICROSCOPY
Monday, April 22

NEUROBIOLOGY
Monday, April 22

REPRODUCTION
Tuesday, April 23

TEACHING MATERIALS AND METHODS