The biology seminar I attended on November 6 was titled the Mechanisms of Synaptic Plasticity and Neuronal Excitability. The lecture focused on the Par1 and Par1b proteins. The first lesson I learned in the seminar was that Par stands for partitioning-defective proteins. There is much more I took away.
Par1 is involved in cell polarity, neuronal migration, neurodevelopment disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. The first lecturer discovered that when Par1 is knocked out, GluR2 increases and learning decreases. The experiment carried out with rats studied how a blue light impacted the Par1 protein causing the rats ability to follow a task to take longer to complete. In conclusion it was found that Par1 promotes synaptic plasticity by limiting GluR2 trafficking to the spine surface.
The second lecturer explained her thought process that the loss of Par1b increases seizure susceptibility, and that inhibition and excitation need to be balanced in the brain. This experiment consisted of a hypothesis that the loss of Par1b results in increased neuronal excitability. The hypothesis was carried out through functionally measuring neuronal excitability using in vitro and in vivo calcium imaging and identifying potential pathways responsible for the increased neuronal excitability observed with loss Par1b. A conclusion emerged that excitability-related pathways are expressed and Par1b is linked to neuronal excitability.
The seminar linked to the ideas of animals, and the components of organisms that we talked about in class. I got to learn more about the specific neurons and proteins in the brain and how they function together. The seminar helped me further confirm how animals’ minds are similar to the human brain. One new concept that I learned from the seminar is the need for an equilibrium of inhibition and excitation. Without that balance, seizures will happen. Inhibition and excitation are linked at the neuron level. Excitatory currents prompt one neuron to share information with the next through an action potential. Inhibitory currents reduce the probability of a transfer taking place.
I still have questions about the general working of the brain’s neurons. The seminar assumed the audience had an understanding in order to comprehend the findings given by the two lecturers. I look forward to learning more about the brain’s neurons due to their importance in understanding animal life and behavior.
Leave a Reply