第十六期水木清华生命科学讲座系列
蒲慕明 中科院神经所
蒲慕明，男，1948年生于南京。1970年台湾清华大学物理系毕业。曾任美国耶鲁大学、哥伦比亚大学、加州大学艾文分校、圣地牙哥分校、伯克利分校等校教授。1984－86年间曾任北京清华大学生物科学和技术系主任。1999年起任中国科学院神经科学研究所所长迄今。他是中国科学院外籍院士、美国科学院院士、台湾中研院院士。 2005年获中华人民共和国国际合作奖，2011年获求是杰出科学家奖。蒲慕明在细胞膜蛋白的流动性、神经轴突的生长和导向、突触的形成和可塑性、神经环路的构造与功能等研究领域都有开创性的贡献。
题目：Neural Plasticity: From Synapse to Cognition
Abstract:
The cognitive functions of the brain, such as learning and memory, depend on the ability of neural circuits to change their properties of signal processing after these circuits have been used by the organism. Many of these use-dependent changes (“plasticity”) occur at synapses. Depending on the pattern of neuronal activities, repetitive synaptic transmission could cause long-term potentiation (LTP) or long-term depression (LTD) of the synapse in its efficacy for future transmission. I will summarize our studies on how the timing of neuronal activities (spikes) in the pre- and post-synaptic neurons determines whether a synapse undergoes LTP or LTD, a phenomenon known as “Spike Timing-Dependent Plasticity” (STDP), and how STDP may provide the mechanism for coding and storing the information on the temporal sequence and interval of sensory signals, two key elements of episodic memory. I will also discuss in general the idea that neural plasticity is the main factor that shapes the development of neural circuits, and that neural plasticity offers the potential for functional recovery from injuries and diseases of the adult brain. Finally, to argue that higher cognitive functions in humans such self-awareness may originate from experience-dependent neural plasticity, I will present preliminary findings showing that mirror self-recognition, a cognitive function known to be limited only to humans and great apes, could be acquired by rhesus monkeys following training for visual-somatosensory association.
Date: 3:00-4:00pm, Jan. 03 (Friday)
Venue: B323, Medical School Building
