SCIENCE AT THE EDGE SEMINAR

INTERDISCIPLINARY PHYSICS

******************************************************

Friday, October 17th- at 11:30am

Room 1400 Biomedical and Physical Sciences Bldg.

Refreshments at 11:15

 

 

Paul Weiss & Anne Andrews

(Paul Weiss-Fred Kavli Chair in Nano Systems Sciences, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, California Nano Systems Institute)

(Anne M. Andrews- Professor of Psychiatry and Chemistry & Biochemistry, Richard Metzner Endowed Chair in Clinical Neuropharmacology, Nano Systems Institute)

University of California, Los Angeles

 

 

Developing Nanoscale Measurements For The Brain

 

Since important functions of the brain, such as intercellular chemical and information transfer, occur at the nanoscale, we are developing nanoscale tools to study and to interact with the brain and its component parts (see Alivisatos et al., ACS Nano 7, 1850, 2013). We have brought the great investment and advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology over the last decade to accelerate our understanding of the brain, in both health and disease. In our initial work, we functionalized surfaces with isolated and tethered neurotransmitters, the small molecules used in this chemical communcation. These capture surfaces are being used to pull down the proteins from the brain involved in neurotransmission as well as to select molecules to use as artificial receptors for in vivo measurements. The latter will be used to study chemical neurotransmission dynamically at high spatial resolution in many simultaneous parallel measurements. Parallel measurements of voltage activity are further along, such that several thousand measurements can now be made simultaneouly with a single multiplexed probe. Ultimately, the great heterogeneity of the brain will require many parallel and specific chemical and voltage measurements, so as to understand and to stimulate neural circuits. This understanding is the goal of Pres. Obama's Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative in the United States and complementary efforts around the world. With an initial focus on technology development, there are great opportunities not only to study the brain, but also to learn to treat diseases of the brain. Understanding how neural circuits function and how they malfunction will be critical to these efforts.

 

 

 

Shawna Prater / Secretary

Astrophysics Group

Michigan State University

567 Wilson Road, Room 3261

Biomedical Physical Sciences Bldg

East Lansing, MI 48824-2320

Ph: (517) 884-5601 Fax (517) 432-8802

[log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]

 

 

This e-mail may contain confidential information.  If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you received this message in error, please delete it immediately.