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Congratulations to June 2019 JBC SMART Brain Prize Winner

26 June, 2019

Congratulations to Robert H. Goldstein for winning the June 2019 JBC SMART Brain Prize for the outstanding article: “Location and Plasticity of the Sodium Spike Initiation Zone in Nociceptive Terminals In Vivo”, published in Neuron in April 2019.

Robert is a 5^t^h year PhD candidate in Neurobiology in Prof. Binshtok Alex from the department of Medical Neurobiology. Robert is researching mechanisms of transduction, action potential initiation and plasticity, at the free nerve endings of nociceptors. He implements advanced imaging techniques, while recording noxious stimuli induced neuronal signals in peripheral nociceptive nerve terminals innervating the mouse cornea, in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, these studies are accompanied with neuronal computational models for validation and behavioral assays for preclinical pathological significance.

Abstract

Our sensation of pain begins with the neuronal response of specialized sensory nerve terminals to noxious stimuli. Although this is a well understood process, it is puzzling why one experiences the same stimulus as moderate or intense pain, depending on context. In our paper we describe the previously unknown location of action potential generation in nociceptor terminals. Furthermore, we found that change in the site of action potential initiation during inflammatory conditions, can encode how pain is experienced. Providing an explanation to why pain sensitivity can increase, such that even a light touch near a sore can produce severe pain.

Figure 6. Scheme Depicting Capsaicin-Induced Signal Generation in Nociceptive Terminals and Fibers. Left: in normal conditions, application of capsaicin on the nociceptive terminal tip evokes activation of terminal TRPV1 channels, leading to Ca²⁺ entry and depolarization. The depolarization activates VGCCs, thus adding to capsaicin-induced Ca²⁺ signals. The Ca²⁺ signal and capsaicin-induced depolarization propagate along the terminal in a Nav-independent manner for ∼25 μm. This depolarization reaches a Nav-SIZ, the location of available Navs, where activation of Navs generates propagating action potentials, which propagate toward the CNS. Right: acute inflammation or application of proinflammatory mediators, presumably by virtue of their relieving effect on Nav slow inactivation, “shifts” the location of available Navs toward the terminal, enhancing the response to capsaicin, thus rendering the nociceptive terminal branch hyperactive.

The upcoming deadline for the next SMART Brain Prize is October 31, 2019

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Congratulations to our New Fellowships Winners

25 June, 2019

"Golden Opportunity" Scholarship for Undergraduates

Ethel Vol - Supervisor: Prof. Sagiv Shifman, for her research proposal: "The Function of circRNA in Autism Spectrum Disorders".

Lior Aloni - Supervisor: Prof. Ehud Zohary, for his research proposal: "Developing novel strategies for perceptual learning generalization towards future treatment of Hemianopia".

Miri Varshavsky - Supervisor: Dr. Naomi Habib, for her research proposal: "Identifying Overlapping Molecular Effects of Aging and Alzheimer's Disease on Brain Cells".

Roni Stein - Supervisor: Prof. Ram Frost, for her research proposal: "Statistical Learning of Non-Adjacent Dependencies: How Does Variability Help?".

Yasmin Lipiner-Nir - Supervisor: Dr. Anat Perry, for her research proposal: "Can machine learning classify emotions based on audio stimuli better than humans?".

Yuval Shapir - Prof. Ayal Ben-Zvi, for her research proposal: "Developing an in-vivo genome-editing platform for Blood-Brain Barrier research".

Treavel Grant:

Amnon Dafni-Merom - Supervisor: Prof. Shahar Arzy. Amnon presented his research: "Neuronal hyperactivity for disorientation in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease'', at the OHBM (Organization for Human Brain Mapping) annual meeting in June 2019.

Batia Bell - Supervisor: Dr. Ayal Ben-Zvi. Batia presented her research: "Super Resolution imaging enables Nano-scale molecular imaging of endothelial transcytosis'', at the 2019 Cold Spring Harbor meeting: Blood Brain Barrier in April 2019.

Rana A buzhaya - Supervisor: Prof. Inbal Arnon. Amnon presented his research: "Heart-rate as a physiological marker of infants attention in a statistical learning task'', at the Interdisciplinary Advances in Statistical Learning in June 2019.

Roe y Schurr - Supervisor: Dr. Aviv Mezer. Amnon presented his research: "Quantitative MRI of the human brain", at the OHBM Annual Meeting in June 2019.

Weih ua Chiu - Supervisor: Dr. Joshua Goldberg. Amnon presented his research: "Functionalizing Braak staging of Parkinson’s disease – a pathway to early intervention'', at the Pathogenesis, Pathophysiology and Experimental Therapeutics in Parkinson's Disease- Gorden Research Seminar and Conference in June 2019.

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Congratulations to January 2019 JBC SMART Brain Prize winners

10 June, 2019

Congratulations to Gal Atlan and Anna Terem (Nudler) for winning the January 2019 JBC SMART Brain Prize for the outstanding article: “The claustrum supports resilience to distraction”, published in Current Biology in September 2018.

Gal Atlan - is a PhD student in the computational neuroscience program of the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC). His dissertation research program, in the lab of Dr. Ami Citri, focuses on the interactions between cortical circuits and the claustrum, and the role of the claustrum in attentional processes. He combines genetic viral tools, with electrophysiology and calcium fiber photometry to genetically access, manipulate, and record the activity of sub-populations of claustral neurons in awake mice during rest and behavior. The claustrum is an understudied hub of neural connectivity, and characterizing its role in regulating sensory coherence could shed light on pathologies such as Autism and ADHD.

Anna Terem (Nudler) - is a PhD student in the MADA program of the Life Science Institute in the Faculty of Natural Sciences. Her dissertation research program, in the lab of Dr. Ami Citri's focuses on a comprehensive characterization of the role dopamine plays in the claustrum. Dopamine is a key factor in both reward and attention, however its underlying functional role and circuitry in the claustrum are poorly understood. Understanding the role of dopamine in regulating claustral function is anticipated to provide insight in the mechanisms underlying attention and reward, and potentially support novel diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities with in the context of substance abuse and attention deficit disorders.

We are constantly barraged by sensory information. While only a fraction of this information is deemed relevant and reaches our perception, the majority is suppressed. The neural mechanisms behind this key ability to ignore distractions are largely unknown. In this publication we provide evidence that the claustrum, a neural hub with vast brain-wide connectivity, is a major node in the circuitry supporting resilience to distraction. A major obstacle in assaying the function of the claustrum has been its thin and elongated anatomy. We characterized a genetic approach for accessing claustral neurons, supporting the first functional investigation of the claustrum. Our results revealed a role for the claustrum in filtering irrelevant sensory distractors. Furthermore, we demonstrate a possible mechanism for the action of the claustrum, through suppression of cortical sensory responses.

The upcoming deadline for the next SMART Brain Prize is February 10th, 2019

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Congratulations to March 2019 JBC SMART Brain Prize winner

5 March, 2019

Congratulations to Matan Geron for winning the March 2019 JBC SMART Brain Prize for the outstanding article: “TRPV1 pore turret dictates distinct DkTx and capsaicin gating”, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in October 2018.

Matan is a PhD student in Dr. Avi Priel’s lab from the institute for drug research at the school of pharmacy, faculty of medicine. His work focuses on the activation mechanism of pain receptors, mainly the ion channels that are responsible for the detection of noxious stimuli. Those channels evoke the initial depolarization in sensory neurons to produce pain sensation. Specifically, he investigates the structure and function of these ion channels using highly selective and potent toxins from plants and animals. To this end, he employs molecular biology, biochemistry, live-cell calcium imaging and electrophysiological methods. As current pain relief therapies are lacking, thorough understanding of the mechanics that govern the activity of ion channels implicated in pain could pave the way for the development of improved analgesics.

Abstract

The TRPV1 channel, found in sensory neurons, responds to noxious stimuli from multiple sources to produce an appropriate pain response. However, how different stimuli evoke distinct pain sensations through TRPV1 remains unclear. We found a channel domain (the pore turret) that imposes opposite effects on the responses of TRPV1 to capsaicin (the “hot” ingredient in chili peppers) and the tarantula toxin DkTx. While this domain restricts ion flow through the channel when it is activated by DkTx, it stabilizes the opening of TRPV1 evoked by capsaicin. Overall, our findings reveal that a TRPV1 domain regulates channel activation evoked by different molecules, thus producing distinct subsequent pain responses.

The upcoming deadline for the next SMART Brain Prize is May 31, 2019

For guidlines please click here

For the full article click here

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Congratulations to our new Travel Exchange Scholarship winners

5 March, 2019

Amir Dudai, from Prof. Dr. Michael London's lab (ELSC). Amir will work on his research: ““Non-linear optics: multiphoton holographic pattern illumination”, in UC Berkeley, California.

Nirvik Sinha from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Nivrik will work on his research: “Behavioural epoch dependent Cerebello-Thalamo-Cortical input-to-output transformation by the Motor Cortex”, under the supervision of prof. Yifat Prut at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Meet JBC's Newest Members

12 February, 2019

The JBC is glad to be a growing organization. Please meet our newest members:

Dr. Shai Sabbah, Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ein Kerem

Dr. Oren Forkosh, Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Rehovot

Prof. Eyal Banin, Department of Ophthalmology, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Ein Kerem

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Congratulations to our new Travel Grant winners

11 February, 2019

slavsky will present her project: “Efficient coding and the evolution of color lexicons” at the "Computational and Systems Neuroscience (Cosyne)" in February 2019. Noga is a PhD student at the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, HUJI. Supervisor: Prof. Naftali Tishby

Asier Erramuzpe will present his project: “Healthy aging network analysis using qMRI, applied to MS” at the "OHBM 2019 - Organization for Human Brain Mapping" in June 2019. Asier is a Post-doc student at the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, HUJI. Supervisor: Dr. Aviv Meze

Noam Shlomo Khayat will present his project: “Perceiving sets and categories” at the "Vision Science Society (VSS)" in May 2019. Noam is a PhD student at the Department of Neurobiology, HUJI. Supervisor: Prof. Shaul Hochstein

Rotem Dan will present her project: “Disrupted network topology in premenstrual dysphoric disorder is related to childhood maltreatment and emotion regulation” at "The Organization of Human Brain Mapping annual meeting" in June 2019. Rotem is a PhD student at the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, HUJI. Supervisor: Prof. Gadi Goelman

Shai Ofek will present his project: “How different cell lineages are formed during embryonic development” at the "Gordon Research Conference- Neural Crest and Cranial Placodes" in April 2019. Shai is a PhD student at the Department of Medical Neurobiology, HUJI. Supervisor: Prof. Chaya Kalcheim

Yasmin Yarden-Rabinowitz will present his project: “In-vivo analysis of synaptic inputs to Cerebellar nuclei neurons reveals excitatory inputs play a key role in determining the timing of cerebellar output” at the "Neuronal circuits in motor behavior - OIST workshop" in February 2019. Yasmin is a PhD student at the Department of Neuroscience, HUJI. Supervisor: Prof. Yosef Yarom

Maya Ross will present her project: “Efficacy of intravitreal gene augmentation therapy in a sheep model of CNGA3 achromatopsia” at the "The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)" in April 2019. Maya is a PhD student at the Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, HUJI. Supervisor: Prof. Ron Ofri

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Congratulations to our new fellowships winners

4 November, 2018

Congratulations to our new fellowship winners:

Post Doc fellowsip:

Dr. Reut Avinun, Supervisor: Dr. Salomon Israel (Psychology dep.), for her research: "Risk and Resilience Factors for Depression".
Dr. Nathalie Klein, Supervisor: Dr. Yoni Pertzov (Psychology dep), for her research: "Psychology dep. Are you in control? An investigation into the motivated memory phenomenon".

PhD "Gold" fellowship:

Gregory Founshtein, Supervisor: Prof. Shahar Arzy (Computational Neuropsychiatric dep.), for his proposal: "Research Plan: Understanding disorientation in Alzheimer’s disease through the combination of structural, functional and metabolic imaging".
Michal Frenkel, Supervisor: Dr. Yoram Ben-Shaul (Medical Neurobiology), for her proposal: "Neuronal Mechanisms of Behavioral Imprinting in the Olfactory System".

"Golden Opprtunty Scholarship" for Master students:

Amir Shufaniya, Supervisor: Prof. Inbal Arnon((Psychology dep), for his research proposal: "The impact of modality and stimulus type on statistical learning: probing the domain-generality of statistical learning".
Eitan Moses, Supervisor: Dr. Itamar Harel (Genetics dep), for his research proposal: "Rejuvenating the aging brain by altering the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal hormonal axis".
Halen Baker, Supervisor: Prof. Hagai Bergman (Medical Neurobiology dep.), for her research proposal: "Electrophysiological changes caused by various sedative medications compared to natural sleep in healthy and parkinsonian monkeys".

Treavel Grant:

Lior Lebovich, Supervisor: Prof. Yonatan Loewenstein (ELSC). Lior presented her research: "Idiosyncratic choice bias in decision tasks naturally emerges from neuronal network dynamics'', at the Neurobridges 2018: A Mediterranean, Middle Eastern Summer School in Computational Neuroscience.
Moria Ben Yishay, Supervisor: Prof. Eran Meshorer (Genetics dep.), Moria presented her research: "Identifying common molecular mechanisms underlying polyQ related diseases'', at the CRG: Tissue Engineering Course: From Stem Cells to Organoids.
Ohad Dan, Supervisor: Yonatan Loewenstein (Dept. of Cognitive Sciences). Ohad presented his research: "From choice architecture to choice engineering'' at the 2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2018).

Travel Exchange Scholarship

Lian Hollander, Supervisor: Prof. Berta Levavi-Sivan (Animal and Veterinary Sciences dep.) for her research proposal: “Use of optogenetics and Ca2+ imaging to characterize neural control of gonadotrophs in fish”.
Casto Vos, Supervisor: Dr. Inbal Goshen (ELSC), for her research proposal: “Structural and functional characterization of astrocytic domains: the significance of association with a specific domain on neuronal activity”.
Mariadelmar Reus-Garcia, Supervisor: Dr. Ami Citri (ELSC), for her research proposal: “The function of the claustrum”

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Meet JBC's Newest Members

4 November, 2018

The JBC is glad to be a growing organization. Please meet our newest members:

Dr. Eran Eldar- Department of Psychology & Department of Cognitive Sciences, Mount Scopus campus

Dr. Eyal Kalanthroff- Department of Psychology, Mount Scopus

Dr. Itamar Harel - Department of Genetics, Institute of Life Sciences, Edmond J. Safra Campus

Dr. Omri Abend - Departments of Computer Science and Cognitive Science, Edmond J. Safra

Dr. Tsevi Beatus - School of Computer Science and Engineering and the Institute of Life Sciences, Edmond J. Safra Campus

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Congratulations to the August 2018 JBC SMART Brain Prize winners

8 August, 2018

Congratulations to Adar Adamsky and Adi Kol for winning the August 2018 JBC SMART Brain Prize for the outstanding article: “Astrocytic Activation Generates De Novo Neuronal Potentiation and Memory Enhancement”, published in Cell in June 2018.

Adar Adamsky - Adar is a PhD student in Dr. Inbal Goshen's lab at the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC). Her Dissertation focuses on the role of neurons and glia in recent and remote memory, and in the transition between them. In her research she seeks to provide a comprehensive mechanistic characterization of the transition from recent to remote memory based on genetically-guided and projection-specific manipulations, employing Ca2+ imaging in behaving mice, histology and behavior.

Adi Kol - Adi is a PhD student in the labs of Dr. Inbal Goshen and Dr Mickey London at the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC). Her Dissertation focuses on the astrocytic modulation of neuronal activity in the synaptic, cellular and circuit level. To explore the role of astrocytes in synaptic activity and plasticity, Adi Employs chemogenetic tools to specifically activate and inhibit these cells, and examine their effect on neuronal activity in the synaptic, cellular and circuit level using slice electrophysiology and two-photon calcium imaging. Such an investigation would illuminate the complex way in which astrocytes do not merely respond to the neighboring neural network activity and support it, but rather precisely modulate the way it processes information.

“Astrocytic Activation Generates De Novo Neuronal Potentiation and Memory Enhancement"

In the current study Adi and Adar employed chemogenetic and optogenetic tools that allow specific activation of astrocytes to explore their role in synaptic activity and memory. They found that hippocampal astrocytic activation resulted in synaptic potentiation and enhanced hippocampal neuronal activity in a task-dependent way: i.e. only during memory acquisition, but not when mice were at their home cage. Furthermore, astrocytic activation during learning resulted in enhanced memory. In contrast, direct hippocampal neuronal activation induced a non-selective increase in activity, during learning and in the home cage, and resulted in drastic memory impairment. These findings have important clinical implications for cognitive augmentation treatments.

The Upcoming deadline for the next SMART Brain Prize is November 30th, 2018

For guidlines please click here

For the full text click here

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