will take place on Tuesday, 29 May 2018 from 17:15 to 18:15 hours in CBBM, Ground Floor, B1/B2.
Host: Prof. Dr. Lisa Marshall
Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology
University of Lübeck
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex plays a key role in many cognitive processes including attention, working memory and decision-making. However, during these process the prefrontal cortex does not act alone but rather interacts with several cortical and subcortical structures in order to support adaptive behavior. In the talk, I will describe experiments using multi-site recordings to examine how interactions between the prefrontal cortex and two of its subcortical interaction partners - the hippocampus and ventral tegmental area - contribute to spatial working memory performance in mice. I will also compare results obtained from wild-type mice with data obtained from genetically engineered mouse lines that display working memory deficits. Together these experiments provide insights into how prefrontal-subcortical interactions support cognitive functions.
Biosketch
Torfi Sigurdsson obtained his Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2006 from New York University under the guidance of Joseph LeDoux. From 2007-2011 he was a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Joshua Gordon at Columbia University. Since 2011 he is a group leader at the Institute of Neurophysiology at Goethe University in Frankfurt. His research focuses on how interactions between brain areas support cognitive functions such as working memory as well as sensory processing. The lab also examines, using animal disease models, how the breakdown of these interactions contributes to psychiatric illness.
