Saad's comment on "Region specific astrocyte subtypes"

Astrocytes are glial cells that tile the nervous system and have complex morphology characterized by multiple branch levels and fine processes. Astrocytes have been regarded as largely identical until recently despite having a large degree of functional diversity. Batiuk et al (2020) explored the molecular diversity of astrocytes using single-cell RNA sequencing. Astrocytes were divided into 5 subtypes (AST1-5) based on the expression of 886 highly variable genes with AST5 being the least abundant (1.4%) and AST1 being the most abundant (36.5%). Furthermore, some subtypes are localized to specific brain regions as AST1 and AST4 are predominantly hippocampal while AST2 is mainly cortical. While some genes are expressed across all subtypes over 70% of enriched genes are specific to a subtype. AST4 was linked to neurogene sis as the enriched genes in this subtype show involvement in mitosis, cell cycle control, transcriptional regulation, neurogenesis, and neuronal differentiation. While AST5 showed considerable overlap with AST4, it was also enriched in genes coding for traditional astrocyte functions such as glucose metabolism. AST1-3 were grouped together as they all showed gene enrichment profiles indicating mature astrocyte function. AST1 showed a distinct specialization in synaptogenesis, synaptic plasticity, and glutamatergic neurotransmission. After establishing the molecular differences among astrocytes, Batiuk et al (2020) looked to explore morphological differences. They found smaller territorial volume in AST2 and 3 which are localized in cortical layers 2-4 when compared to AST3 which is localized to the hippocampal CA3 region. Going forward, it may be interesting to see more studies correlating the transcriptome to morphology and function as we learn more about region-specific astrocytes.

Saad

Reference

Batiuk, M.Y., Martirosyan, A., Wahis, J. et al. Identification of region-specific astrocyte subtypes at single cell resolution. Nat Commun 11, 1220 (2020). 

Hello everyone!

My name is Danielle Saint Hilaire and I am a Senior Biology Major and Neuroscience Mnor. I joined the lab last semester (Fall 2020) and have been really enjoying it! On my first day, I learned all about what Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is, and since then it has been my primary job in the lab, along with colony management. In my short time here in the lab, I have learned more than I thought possible in just a few months. As a new member in the lab, I got acquainted with the various mouse genotypes and the different projects being worked on; I learned quickly that determining the genotype of the mice is an imperative first step to any experiment. So I dove right in. I learned how to decide which genes to type for and I also learned how to follow the extensive protocol for preparing the samples for PCR. I found it really fascinating how I could collect the DNA samples and see it through all the way until we got the final product: the genotype. Aside from technical skills, being a member of the lab has taught me so much about how to analyze scientific literature. In our weekly lab meetings, we rotate (from PhD students, to Masters students, to Undergrads), and we all take turns choosing, dissecting, and presenting a new and cutting edge research article. When I presented my first paper, I remember having to do so much research behind the scenes of the various data collection techniques (as a newly declared Neuroscience Minor, my background in lab techniques was, let’s say, lacking). Not only dissecting these papers for myself, but hearing others from the lab contribute has been so critical in learning how to consume research papers; most papers aren’t as ‘black and white’ as they seem, if you look deep enough, you’ll find a lot of grey areas too. Another unexpected benefit of working in the lab has been overcoming my dislike of public speaking. Before joining the lab, if I was asked to present to the class or share my thoughts, I would’ve high-tailed it in the other direction. But working in the lab and discussing papers in lab meetings/presenting my work at research conferences has made all the difference. And now I actually love presenting - what a reversal! It’s great to be passionate and knowledgeable about a topic and be able to share it with others. Working in the lab has been, by far, my favorite experience at UAlbany. I’ve been able to work with a wonderful group of passionate, focused people, and have been able to learn from them throughout it all. Not only that, but I’ve also been able to contribute to a project that’s bigger than me, that will, hopefully, one day make a difference for someone living with a neurodegenerative disease or OCD.

Danielle

Hello everyone!

My name is Corey Nilon, and I am a sophomore studying Biology with minors in Neuroscience and Sociology. Last semester, because of COVID-19, I was only a virtual member of the lab. This has been my first semester coming to the lab in person and I have enjoyed every part of it. It is a great educational environment to be in and it is so fascinating to see all the projects that people around me are working on! So far, my experience in the lab has been a significant amount of ezTrack data analysis, mouse colony management, and PCR. ezTrack is a Python-based program that I have been using to track the location and trajectories of mice and they perform reward-based motor tasks. Furthermore, going forward, I plan to use this program to note differences in behavior relative to differences in various genes. By studying these mice, we hope to gain insight into the neural circuits controlling behaviors similar to that of obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

Outside of the lab, I am the president of the Special Olympics club and a part of the TriBeta honors society. I also have been volunteering at Albany Medical Center since last Fall, which has been an extremely rewarding experience being able to have primary interactions with all types of medical personnel: doctors, nurses, technicians, and patients. 

I am proud to be a part of the lab as it is a great opportunity to contribute to real-life science. It is very different from most other sciences classes where you're only learning material and things that have already been, for the most part, figured out. The experimental side of science is a pleasure to be a part of, and I look forward to being a part of future discoveries!

In the future, I have hope to attend medical school. From there, I am excited to see where life takes me!

Corey

Ian's synopsis on: "Glutamate signaling and plume characteristics in a genetic mouse model of migraine with aura" by Parker et al.

Migraine is a neurological disorder that commonly consists of symptoms such as extreme headaches and sensory amplifications. It is commonly associated with aura, which is characterized by spreading sensory hallucinations (flashing visual perceptions, numbness, and tingling). Spreading depolarization (SD) is known to be the underlying cause of migraine aura. Familial hemiplegic migraine type 2 (FHM2) is a form of migraine with aura that arises from loss-of-function mutations to the gene ATP1A2 (the gene encoding the predominantly astrocytic alpha2 Na+/K+-ATPase). Astrocytes in heterozygous FHM2 mice show slower uptake kinetics of glutamate due to a 50% reduction in the concentration of glutamate transporter GLT-1a in perisynaptic astrocyte processes. This serves as an effective mouse model for migraine with aura. How this astrocytic mutation reshapes glutamate signaling in awake FHM2 mice is largely unknown. Here, they use the fluorescent glutamate reporter iGluSnFR to measure glutamate in FHM2 and WT mice. They found that FHM2 mice exhibited spontaneous glutamatergic “plumes” that were generally circular in nature and appeared to spread from a central origin. Plumes occurred predominantly in superficial cortical layer 1 (L1a), and much less frequently in deeper L1b and L2/3. This correlated with the density of GLT1a+ astrocyte processes, as L1a exhibited a reduced density of these processes as compared to L2/3, and superfusion of the glutamate transporter inhibitor TFB-TBOA caused a large number of plumes in L1a, leading the researchers to believe that plumes are a result of impaired glutamate uptake. Glutamate release during plumes is likely due to Ca2+-mediated vesicular release from neurons. Once glutamate is released, the presence of plumes is gated by impaired or inefficient glutamate clearance by astrocytes. Plumes tend to occur during the depolarization phase, following the glutamatergic wavefront commonly seen in SD and rises in glutamate and plume frequency predict the onset of SD. This links plumes to the key translational phenotype of FHM2 and all other models of migraine with aura.

Ian

Reference 

Parker, P. D., Suryavanshi, P., Melone, M., Reinhart, K. M., Sawant-Pokam, P. A., Kaufmann, D., Theriot, J. J., Pugliese, A., Conti, F., Shuttleworth, C. W., Pietrobon, D., Brennan, K. C. (2020). Non-canonical glutamate signaling in a genetic model of migraine with aura. NEURON, 109(4), 561-740. doi:10.1101/2020.01.02.891770

Dopamine triggers rise in intracellular calcium concentration in astrocytes and depresses excitatory synaptic transmission in the nucleus accumbens

Dopaminergic inputs to the nucleus accumbens (NAc), originating in the ventral tegmental area, are key for motor control and reward. Previous reports suggested that dopamine reduces excitatory synaptic transmission by acting on presynaptic D1 receptors, and by altering adenosine signaling. What remains unknown is how dopamine changes the functional properties of NAc astrocytes. Given that various neurotransmitters increase the intracellular calcium concentration in astrocytes, Corkrum et al.  hypothesize that dopamine may be able to evoke similar effects.

To test this hypothesis, Corkrum et al. used a combination of transgenic mice, optogenetics and pharmacogenetics to show that dopamine evokes a rise in the intracellular calcium concentration in NAc astrocytes by activating D1 dopamine receptors. The work is based on the use of elegant controls, like those relying on the use of astrocyte-specific deletion of D1 dopamine receptors. Dopamine also impairs excitatory synaptic transmission through signaling pathways that rely on activation of presynaptic A1 receptors in NAc neurons. The hypothesized chain of events include a rise in intracellular calcium concentration evoked by activation of D1 receptors in astrocytes that promotes ATP/adenosine release from these cells. Adenosine binds to presynaptic A1 receptors in neurons, thereby reducing excitatory synaptic transmission.

Since dopamine is also implicated with drug addiction, the authors analyzed the effects of the amphetamine, a psycho-stimulant known to disrupt dopamine release, re-uptake and degradation. Just like dopamine, amphetamine increased the intracellular calcium concentration in astrocytes evoked by dopamine release, and inhibited excitatory transmission.

These findings are important because they show that astrocytes modulate excitatory glutamatergic transmission in the NAc by responding to changes in dopamine release. Therefore, future strategies to understand the molecular basis of addiction, should take into account the contribution of these cells to the regulation of synaptic strength.

Saad Ahmad and Nikhita Kumar

Reference

Corkrum M, Covelo A, Lines J, Bellocchio L, Pisansky M, Loke K, Quintana R, Rothwell PE, Lujan R, Marsicano G, Martin ED, Thomas MJ, Kofuji P, Araque A (2020). Dopamine-evoked synaptic regulation in the nucleus accumbens requires astrocyte activity. Neuron 105(6):1036-1047.e5.

Perforated patch clamp recordings reveal new facets of dopaminergic modulation of striatal neurons

Dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra projecting to the basal ganglia nucleus of the striatum control movement initiation and acceleration. This effect is thought to be mediated by altering the cell excitability of the two main types of long-projection neurons in the striatum, which differ for their expression of either D1 or D2 dopamine receptors. In previous studies, the effect of dopamine has been investigated using reduced preparations (i.e. brain slices) and by analyzing the biophysical properties of striatal medium spiny neurons using whole-cell patch clamp recordings and by mimicking dopamine release through exogenous applications. Whole-cell patch clamp recordings disrupt the physiological composition of the intracellular milieu, as the solution of the patch pipette dialyzes the intracellular cytoplasm. In addition, the exogenous application of dopamine may not recapitulate the physiological time course of dopamine release in vivo. As a result, there are conflicting results on how D1 dopamine receptor activation alters cell excitability in striatal medium spiny neurons. Here, Lahiri and Bevan combine perforated-patch recordings from D1 medium spiny neurons (MSNs) with optogenetic stimulation of dopamine release from nigro-striatal afferents to the dorsolateral striatum. They show that dopamine release increases the firing rate of D1-MSNs elicited by long domatic current injections, which mimic up-states. This effect persists for more than 10 min and is mediated by PKA activation. To mimic both up and down states, the authors apply 250 ms current steps once a second for 41 seconds, a protocol that they applied every 5 minutes for 3-4 trials. Based on the fact that the latency to action potential firing decreases and the firing frequency increases during optogenetic stimulation, they conclude that dopamine promotes the transitions from down to up states. Through the use of a wide range of pharmacological assays, they show that dopamine reduces the fast and medium after-hyperpolarization, consistent with an effect on slowly inactivating A-type potassium channels and calcium activated potassium channels. Together, this extensive array of heroic experiments shed light on previously unknown molecular mechanisms  through which the firing output of MSNs responds to changing levels of extracellular dopamine. Although the optogenetic stimulation of nigro-striatal afferents used by the authors may not capture aspects of asynchrony in dopamine release from nigro-striatal afferents, this is the closest we have got to understand the molecular machinery regulating the complex functional properties of striatal neurons.

Ian Tschang and Sam Barron

Reference
Lahiri AK, Bevan MD (2020). Dopaminergic transmission rapidly and persistently enhances excitability of D1 receptor-expressing striatal projection neurons. Neuron (xx), xxx–xx.

Example of three patch clamp configurations

Dopaminergic neurons from the VTA and SNc control movement reinforcement

The work presented in this manuscript aims to determine how dopaminergic midbrain neurons contribute to movement reinforcement and movement generation. To address this, the authors used in vivo optogenetics to activate halorhodopsin (eNpHR3.0) expressed in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the region containing the cell body of mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons. They subjected mice to a Pavovian paradigm, in which they paired a conditioning olfactory cue with an unconditioned sweetened milk reward. After training, the olfactory cue triggered an anticipatory licking that began before reward delivery. Light inhibition of VTA neurons reduced this anticipatory licking (which occurs in the time window between cue presentation and reward delivery) more than consummatory licking (which occurs after reward delivery) and this effect scaled with reward size. Together, these results suggest that dopaminergic neurons control movement reinforcement more than generation. In subsequent experiments, they show that post-reward inhibition of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) also inhibits anticipatory licking, suggesting that dopaminergic neurons in these two brain regions might have overlapping functions. Through a series of fiber photometry measures of GCaMP6f fluorescence, they showed that dopaminergic neurons are active both before and after reward delivery, with post-reward dopamine neuron activity regulating learning. These findings are important because they support the hypothesis that VTA and SNc neurons both contribute preferentially to movement reinforcement rather than generation, although they do not rule out the possibility that specific subsets of dopaminergic neurons may have specialized roles in controlling specific features of the movement execution process. 

Nikki Dolphin and Anna Tuttman

Reference
Lee K, Claar LD, Hachisuka A, Bakhurin KI, Nguyen J, Trott JM, Gill JL and Masmanidis SC (2020). Temporally restricted dopaminergic control of reward-conditioned movements. Nat Neurosci (23), 209–16.

The striatal way of encoding information about locomotor speed

Movement execution relies on the activity of the striatum, but there are current unknowns on how the striatum selects actions and controls their speed. The “discrete encoding model” posits that striatal neurons generate a burst of activity at the beginning and the end of a movement. By contrast, the “continuous encoding model” posits that striatal neurons fire continuously during movement execution, to encode information about the sensory and/or motor state of an animal. In this work, the authors tested the validity of these two models. They performed experiments in which they obtained single and multi-unit recordings from the dorsomedial striatum of mice in an open field. By analyzing neuronal firing rates during bouts of locomotor activity, they showed that 18% of all recorded units increased their firing near the start of locomotion, and 15% of them increased firing near the end of it. The changing in firing rates in these cohorts of neurons reflected changes in locomotor speed. A close comparison of the firing activity of striatal neurons during head-fixed and free-moving locomotion suggest that the speed representation features of most striatal neurons may show continuous changes in firing rates and might be context-dependent. One of the main caveats of in vivo experiments on head-restrained mice is that the vestibular inputs are not comparable to those of freely moving mice. In addition, we wondered whether the results might change depending on the selection criteria used to identify neurons that encode locomotor information (as opposed to other types of movements like grooming, rearing or digging). Therefore, this interpretation holds for locomotor activity at speeds greater than 5 cm/s, it may or may not hold true for at slower speeds. Future works may shed light on the behavior of striatal neurons over all ranges of speed.

Nurat Affinnih and Haley Chesbro

Reference
Fobbs WC, Bariselli S, Licholai JA, Miyazaki NL, Matikainen-Ankney BA, Creed MC, Kravitz AV (2020). Continuous representations of speed by striatal medium spiny neurons. J Neurosci 40(8):1679-1688.

Genotyping: the gateway to the lab

Hello everyone!

My name is Sam Barron and I am a Sophomore studying biology. This is currently my first semester in the lab, and I have had a great time so far. Coming in, I did not have a very strong background in neuroscience, so I was unsure as to how well I would fit in the lab. However, I have learned so much and everyone in the lab has been very helpful. It is a great environment that anyone can be a part of and excel in.

As the new member in the lab, I have spent most of my time getting on par with genotyping our mouse colony using polymerase chain reactions (PCR). Despite being a bit repetitive, it is a great way to become acquainted to the lab and the different mouse genotypes that are used. While on the topic of PCR, I would like to direct your attention to its developer: Kary Mullis. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993 for developing the technique, which changed the study of biology forever. He has also been one of the most controversial and polarizing figures in the scientific community. From denying AIDS and global warming to describing an encounter with aliens, Mullis has exhibited radical beliefs in science. His basis for these ideas stem from his belief that many scientists and corporations are motivated by money and personal success over using science to better the world. While there may be flaws in his views, it is important that we as scientists work for others and not ourselves. If you want to read more about Mullis I recommend his autobiography Dancing Naked in the Mind Field.

Outside of the lab, I am a part of the UAlbany Men’s Ultimate Frisbee team and Tri Beta Biological Honors Society. I also spend time playing the piano and volunteering at the StrattonVA Medical Center.

Being in the lab has and will provide valuable learning experiences as I look towards the future. After I graduate, I hope to go to medical school. I hope to become a neuropathologist where I can do research and help those with different neurological diseases.

Sam Barron

Venturing from informatics to neuroscience

Greetings, listeners of the Neurovoice! 

My name is Jesse Parent and I’m a graduating Informatics senior in Dr. Scimemi’s Neuroscience lab. I am actually a non-traditional 'transfer' student who went back to school for a STEM career change. I originally came to UAlbany because it was an online-only degree and I had to work during the day. Fortunately, I had a flexible enough to work and slowly gain more research experience over time, and upon recommendation I found my way into this lab. I started last semester in the Fall.

My first outreach at the Brain Awareness Day 2018 at Bethlehem High School (Delmar, NY)

What an experience it has been! I would encourage anyone interested in cross-disciplinary research or applying computer science or informatics to biology to try it out. A lab like Dr. Scimemi's is open and welcoming and there are a lot of different ways to contribute - even if you have little background in Neuroscience. I wasn't sure how much real biology I would touch upon during my time in the lab; when I showed up, there was strange looking grey box and some parts to assemble and I spent several months setting up that hardware and related software. But the neuroscience was there: my first project involved using custom telemetry for electroencephalograms (EEG) to interpret brain activity in mice.

Our lab at the 2018 Society for Neuroscience Hudson-Berkshire Chapter Meeting (Scotia, NY)

One of my favorite things about undergraduate research is that the learning is much more raw, and real. It's a challenge, and sometimes (or a lot of times) you are dealing with questions that nobody knows the answer to - unlike your typical classroom lecture. But you have to stay humble and persistent. I was humbled often by thinking I had solutions that weren't solutions, and I had no way of knowing they weren't solutions until I asked the right question. Sometimes you won’t know which question is helpful - but it's OK! That's part of the process; just keep communicating where you are along the way - this was one of my first Big Lessons. 

Not being a natural science major, I gained a lot of respect with real life challenges of "doing science", and having to know the "full stack" of science. That is, having to know the ‘why’ at all of the different levels, from where to put electrodes, to how the signal is transmitted and converted into what the software reads out, how to process that data to illustrate what we're looking at, why we're looking at this subject specifically, and how all of this relates to a particular issue within the field. A formative experience was my first lab report, an in-house presentation of what had done so far in the lab. During your first life science presentation, you make mistakes and learn a lot. There's a precision and familiarity that comes with each specific field of study, and I've only touched upon what that is in neuroscience. It has been like painting: setting a primer coat on for the first time - a bit messy, but I feel confident about building upon it in the future. Experiences like this really make undergraduate research worth it, in my opinion. 

I have been a part of research teams in four different departments on campus (which actually my secondary agenda for coming to UAlbany; previous institutions I attended did not have this diversity in undergraduate research opportunities). If you are at all considering doing research, I must encourage you to do so. The Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (CURCE) has really developed nicely and its staff are exceedingly helpful. I actually received two grants from CURCE for some of my other independent research projects! If you are interested in biology and neuroscience, definitely check out Scimemi Lab. When your PI gives you room to try and fail, explore, and is willing to invest in you as a student and cares about your career future, it makes a big difference in your lab experience and how you feel about the subject matter.

The best mentors and PIs will help you capture enthusiasm while helping you get a lay of the land, and I really wish everyone can experience that in their undergraduate studies. It changes how you view understanding, how you see yourself in the process of education, and gives you a glimpse of how hard it is to build knowledge. Maybe, like me, you discover you like this process and want to work at contributing to the what knowledge we have. Having great labmates around you help, too - which was a part of this lab experience for me. Previously, I worked one-on-one or in isolated pairings, but this open lab atmosphere and ability to communicate and be next to others “in the trenches” - it was really my favorite environment so far. There are overlapping, interesting projects, and some of the best moments are the side conversations that offer perspective and insight into other’s situations - or at least commiserating about The Struggle of science!

My secondary project involves setting up an open-sourced MySQL-based database to automate some of the downstream computations involved in processing large batches of data. Being able to work with new software, hardware, databases, documentation, talking with creators/inventors of devices, and trying to relate all of this understanding functionally to the lab has absolutely been challenging, but it has also been great training and exposure to lab life. Of course, it is a lot of fun, too; it lets you feel like you are voyaging out on the great sea of understanding, and you have your role, your mission and you have to play your part. You have good days and bad days in the lab, but that's all part of the journey.

I wish I started sooner so I'd have more time in the lab and get more experience in a biology environment. It has helped me solidify that I want to take my informatics training towards biology, rather than leaning purely towards computer science. Particularly, the area of computational cognitive neuroscience or the computation that underpins cognition and information processing. I hope to pursue graduate research on that topic, and will be involved in summer research on representational brains and phenotype, modeling neural development.

Outside of the lab, I’ve worked on research projects in Informatics (Autonomous Systems and Machine Learning), Cybersecurity, and Electrical & Computer Engineering (Human-Robot Interaction); I’ve been involved in student tech groups such as IEEE, ACM & ACM-W, ASIS&T; UAlbany Students Stopping Trafficking & Exploitation of People (SSTEP); and e-NABLE (simple prosthetic hands for those in need). I also frequently bothered folks via departmental list servs about cool events such as Princeton Envision Conference, Machine Intelligence Conference, Ethics of AI, or New York Celebration of Women in Computing. There’s are many quality opportunities locally (and Dr. Scimemi is a great facilitator of opportunities for you to develop your skills and provide outreach for the community). Get involved! 

Feel free to connect on Twitter @JesParent, and good luck on your journey of understanding!

Jesse Parent

Microetching neurons with Gabrielle!

Greetings! My name is Gabrielle and I am the Scimemi Lab Manager. I have a BA in Biology from Cornell University, a PhD in Chemical Biology from the University of Michigan and several years of post doc experience. My expertise lies in molecular biology, although I have dabbled in NMR, mass spectrometry, biochemistry and microscopy. I have worked in a wide range of organisms from plants to bacteria to viruses, but the Scimemi lab marks my inauguration into mammalian research. Managing a mouse colony can be challenging as there are a lot of moving parts, but it is a fun organization/optimization problem. While I have no formal training in neurobiology, it is exciting to be able to apply my molecular biology skills to a new field.

I recently came across a ScienceFriday interview with the artist Greg Dunn. He uses a technique called photolithography to make detailed artwork of neurons. He draws neurons with ink, scans the image and prints microetching data at ultrahigh resolution onto a transparency to generate a mask. He places these masks onto a photoresist surface and shines UV light over it. Wherever UV light penetrates the mask, it polymerizes the photoresist material, which hardens it; regions shielded by the mask do not polymerize and can be washed away with a basic solution. The remaining features are subsequently plated in gold leaf. This microetching process generates features with single micron resolution (or about 1/100 of the width of human hair!).

Intriguingly, in addition to creating beautiful two dimensional images, Dunn has also incorporated animations into his microetched patterns such that as a light source is moved over the image (or when your perspective changes) the reflection of light from the gold leaf fluctuates to portray electrical signals travelling across the neurons. He has used this technique to generate an image of a slice of the entire brain, incorporating real scientific data about the size of ~500,000 neurons and their features, the connectivity between different parts of the brain, and information about the coordination among firing neurons during 500 microseconds of “brain time”. These exquisite images serve to highlight the complexity and the stunning beauty of our brains. More artwork can be found here. Enjoy!

Gabrielle Todd

If you cannot 3D print it, it's not fun!

Hello!

My name is Desirée and I am a senior at SUNY Albany majoring in Physics. I have been a member of the lab since Fall 2017. I have taken on the role of the lab’s Computer Aided Design (CAD) designer and 3D printing enthusiast. From PCR combs to behavioral apparatus, 3D printing has allowed us to develop tools that are useful for our specific research needs. The possibilities are endless! I have also been practicing my coding skills and learning methods of statistical analysis.

Aside from working in the lab, I was a board member for Volunteers Around the World, where I, along with 22 other aspiring health care professionals, traveled to the Dominican Republic to shadow doctors, distribute pharmaceuticals to residents of impoverished areas, and teach a hygiene class to an orphanage. I also attended Hackathons, including HackRU, HackRPI, and MedHacks at John’s Hopkins (you can find me on the MedHacks Instagram page demonstrating my prototype of a glove-donning device!). I love designing, and I have developed quite the portfolio of CAD designs, scientific illustrations, and 3D printed tools and toys (playing Overcooked and Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch has never been more addicting since I made controller adapters).

Upon hearing about Dr. Scimemi’s lab and how its members come from many different backgrounds, I realized that neuroscience is truly multidisciplinary. It combines biology, chemistry, physics and even engineering and math in order to fully understand the most important, and puzzling, organ: the brain.

In the lab, we are expected to be independent and work autonomously, but have the amazing support from Dr. Scimemi and the other lab members. We are also given amazing opportunities to network with people in the field through the Society for Neuroscience and events not only at SUNY Albany, but other universities as well. The main takeaway is that Dr. Scimemi’s lab environment encourages risk taking and delving further into your interests for a unique development of passion and curiosity.

If you are thinking about joining the lab, remember to embrace your talents and interest and know that there is always room for you in the quest for scientific exploration!

Desirée D’Moore

Desirée is the recipient of the following award:

2018            Situation Interactive Prize for Experience Research

What do we work on in the lab? Shergil explains...

Hello to all the lovely readers of Neurovoice!

My name is Shergi Zahid and I am an undergraduate senior here in the lab, majoring in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology. This is my second semester working in the lab and it has been a blast! My latest assignments in the lab include reconstructing medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and rendering them into realistic computational models, which we can use to develop biophysical model and analyse their fine morphology. It’s actually pretty interesting. But you know what is even more interesting? Some of the publications our lab has produced! I would like to present to everyone a paper published in the Journal of Neuroscience on January 24, 2018, titled “Neuronal glutamate transporters control dopaminergic signaling and compulsive behaviors”. This paper is still very relevant to our current work in the lab so it should be good for anyone who’s interested in joining us to not only read the paper but also read this blog post to help you better understand the research we’re conducting here. I’m going to try to keep this as simple as possible to not scare anyone away. So to get started, what is the premise of this whole study? To start, the focus of the study is on the neuronal glutamate transporter EAAC1 and its impact on signaling and stereotyped behaviors associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The region of the brain that our study focuses on is the striatum. It is the part of the brain that controls execution of stereotyped movements. This region of the brain is hyperactive when examining the brains of OCD patients. In normal brains, EAAC1 is largely expressed in the striatum. Its loss is associated with increased execution of ritual and anxiety-like behaviors in mice. But what are molecular the mechanisms behind these behaviors? The paper addresses this exact question.  Through electrophysiological, viral and molecular techniques as well as behavioral studies that were done on mice, we found the explanation to this question. When explaining the molecular mechanism of these behaviors we must look at two receptors found in the brain that we had described to be associated with EAAC1, group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRI) and D1 dopamine receptors (D1R). Here’s the basic idea, when EAAC1 is expressed, it reduces the activation of mGluRI receptors which results in increased D1R expression, this ultimately leads to long term potentiation (LTP) leading to normal signaling activity in the striatum. When observing mice with the EAAC1^-/- you wouldn’t see this type of result. However, if you blocked mGluRI, D1R expression would be restored. Interestingly enough, when we have an EAAC1 expressing mouse in which we can activate signal cascades coupled to GluRI we are able to trigger a decrease in D1R expression and increased stereotyped movement.  Below is a quick and easy summary of everything.

With EAAC1 = mGluRI Activation ↓ & D1R Expression ↑   Leading to LTP

No EAAC1 = blocked mGIuRI,  Activation ↓ & D1R Expression ↑ Leading to LTP

With EAAC1= coupled mGluRI Activation ↑ & D1R Expression ↓ Leading to stereotyped movement

No EAAC1 = mGIuRI Activation ↑ & D1R Expression ↓ Leading to stereotyped movement                                                                 

Now onto the behavioral part. We subjected mice of two different genotypes (WT and EAAC1^-/-) to a SHIRPA screening, which tests for general behavioral abnormalities. We only found subtle motor deficiencies in EAAC1^-/- mice. Although both mouse strains had similar levels of motor activity, EAAC1^‑/- mice showed increased anxiety like behaviors. These differences could be detected over a broad age range (P14- P35), in male and female mice alike. When analyzing more specifically striatal controlled behaviors (e.g. grooming), we found that EAAC1^-/- groomed more frequently than WT mice. Together, these data identify EAAC1 as a key regulator of striatal activity, movement execution and anxiety, which are all disrupted in OCD.

So…if you want to know more about how the brain works, at a very deep and detailed level, this is the place to be!

Shergil Zahid

Shergil is the recipient of the following award:

2019            Presidential Award for Undergraduate Research

DJ Saad @ The Honors College

Hi everyone,

My name is Saad and I’m currently an undergraduate freshman majoring in Biology and minoring in French. I have been in the lab since the Fall 2018 semester and my duties in the lab have included PCR, behavioral studies, and some 3D printing design.

On campus I am a DJ and internal events director for WCBD radio, you can catch my show from 12-2 am on Thursdays. Most of the music I play is either hip hop or electronic, also a lot of Frank Ocean. I am also the secretary for UAlbany Peace Action which organizes campaigns for social justice issues. Most recently, we held a movie screening of Hotel Rwanda to raise awareness for genocidal actions happening throughout the world. We’d love to have new members so if your interested feel free to send me an email at sahmad2@albany.edu.

I am also a part of the Honors College at UAlbany which is an amazing program. The honors program gives you the ability to take courses at an honors level and make great connections with professors that come in to visit the Honors College as part of the weekly speaker series. I am also a part of the Honors Event Planning Committee which organizes a wide range of events from parties to faculty book panels.

After undergrad, I hope to attend medical school and go on to become a psychiatrist. I’ve always been interested in the psychology of and neuroscience behind mental illness and I hope to continue learning about it.

Saad Ahmad

Saad is the recipient of the following awards:

2020            Selected for ICAN Paris Forum

Fresh as a Freshman

Hello everyone!

My name is Ian Tschang and I am a Freshman at SUNY Albany majoring in Biology. I have been in the lab since October of 2018 and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I have done PCR and immunolabeling and am now working on using in situ hybridization to detect the expression of different genes in brain slices. Some of my hobbies include playing the piano (especially Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Liszt) and watching YouTube. I am currently in the Pre-Med Club, Albany Student Television, and Presidential Honors Society. I also volunteer at Albany Medical Center on Sundays. I hope to graduate and attend medical school or go into research in order to help those who are suffering from diseases and contribute to an ever widening body of scientific knowledge. I can’t wait to see what advancements and developments the future has in store for us! Thanks for reading!

Ian Tschang

Learn your acronyms: Nurat introduces us to CURCE, CSTEP, UASRP and running!

Hi everyone!

My name is Nurat Affinnih and I am a junior at SUNY Albany. I have a minor in Neuroscience and will be majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. I have been in Dr. Scimemi’s lab for about two years now. I am extremely interested in the topics that we study in the lab, specifically neuropsychiatric disorders. This was my main reason for joining the lab. I am fascinated by mental disorders and my goals involve learning about the procedures through which these disorders occur.

I am currently working on a research project that investigates how striatal hyperactivity contributes to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). We address this question using chemo and optogenetics approaches, which require delivering viral constructs to the striatum using stereotaxic surgeries. Being in the lab has allowed me to become a skilled micro-surgeon, which I think will be invaluable for my future career.

Research aside, I am an ambassador for the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Engage (CURCE) and a member of the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP). CURCE works to help undergraduate students find and participate in research, scholarship, and creative activities by providing them with information, resources, and events related to their goals. If you are interested in getting involved in research, you can find out more about CURCE here! CSTEP works to increase the number of historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professions by providing students with opportunities for academic enrichment and research experience. Through CSTEP, I was able to conduct research during the summer of 2018 by participating in one of their programs, the University at Albany Summer Research Program (UASRP). If you would like to be part of CSTEP, you can find more information here!

Outside of these activities, I love to run! I am part of the UAlbany Running Exchange, a running club on campus. We are currently looking for new members. If you enjoy running, consider joining the club!

My plan after graduating is to attend medical school. Doing research in Neuroscience has become an important part of my college career, so much so that I have been motivated to pursue an MD-PhD in medical school. One day, I hope to be able to treat patients and conduct research in the Neuroscience of mental illness.

Thank you very much for your attention!

Nurat Affinnih

Nurat is the recipient of the following awards:

2020            President's Award for Leadership – Great Dane Award 
2020            Accepted to NCRC 2020 at Harvard University 
2020            Accepted to NCUR 2020 at Montana State University 
2020            CURCE Travel Award
2019            CURCE Award
2019            Initiative for Women Award
2019            Spellman Academic Achievement Award  
2019            Presidential Award for Undergraduate Research
2018            Spellman Academic Achievement Award  
2018            CSTEP Summer Research Program - SUNY Albany  
2017            Spellman Academic Achievement Award 

News from Haley and the Neuroscience Club!

Hello everyone! My name is Haley and I am currently a junior undergraduate student. This is my second semester in the lab and will be in the lab next year as well. I am majoring in biochemistry because I love understanding the mechanism of how things work. My particular interest is, of course, neuroscience! I am minoring in neuroscience and philosophy so that I can develop a better understanding of not only the hard science of the brain but also the philosophical ideas of the mind.

In the lab, we work with mice to help improve the current understanding of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). We study glutamate transporters in the striatum and manipulate different sets of cells by taking advantage of the Cre-LoxP system (Read more about it here!).

When I am not in the lab or at school, I love to be outside! In the summer I try to spend most of my time on the water whether it be jet skiing, boating or just being with friends and family. I also enjoy hiking in the Adirondacks and in the winter, I love to ski (a.k.a the only good part about winter). I love any and all types of music and some of my favorite shows include Black Mirror, Game of Thrones and The Office as well as being a documentaryaholic.

On campus, I help run The Neuroscience Club. We are always looking for more students to be a part of the club so if you are interested you can find us on MyInvolvement and join our Facebook page, UAlbany Neuroscience Club. We will be trying to post more frequently so that our members stay updated. It is a fun club for anyone interested in neuroscience! Feel free to email me at hchesbro@albany.edu if you have any questions!

My ultimate goal is to go to medical school and become a Neurologist. I want to continue studying neuroscience as it is such a rapidly advancing field with more and more being discovered every year. There are so many exciting areas of research including neuroregeneration, neural prosthetics, neurogenetics, stem cell research, proteomics and much more. With life expectancy climbing worldwide, treating health at the level of the brain is becoming increasingly important to global human well-being. I hope to one day help make a difference in the lives of those that are afflicted with a wide range of neurological disorders.

Thanks for reading!

Haley Chesbro

Haley is the recipient of the following awards:
2020            President's Award for Leadership – Distinguished Scholar-Leader Award 
2020            Accepted to NCRC 2020 at Harvard University 
2020            Accepted to NCUR 2020 at Montana State University 
2020            CURCE Travel Award
2019            CURCE Award

доброе утро!

I have a little announcement to make, though I am aware this will break the 2-week-long tradition of weekly posts on Neurovoice. Please blame it on my enthusiasm. I am thrilled to be presenting JP's stunning new data on astrocytes at the Baikal Neuroscience Meeting (Siberia, Russia) this summer, which I will join as an invited speaker. There is an outstanding list of speakers and I am both humbled and thrilled to be part of it! Finally, I can see the purpose of going through multiple winter seasons in Albany!!

Annalisa Scimemi

Ladies and gentlemen, here is JP!

Hi everyone! As Annalisa alluded to in the previous post, I’m currently the longest tenured member of the Scimemi Lab, having started back as an undergraduate student in the Fall semester of 2015 (aka making me the old grandpa of the lab). I’m currently in my third year of the MCDN PhD program here at the University at Albany, focusing on the “N” or neural portion of the acronym. In my two full years in the program, I’ve focused in on astrocytes, a glial cell type widely found across the brain, and how they influence and effect memory and learning within the hippocampus.

Stepping away from the science quickly, some of my hobbies include being outdoors, whether it be hiking, boating, or just playing sports. For those of you that don’t know, I’m a former member of the University at Albany’s football team, participating while I was an undergraduate ( if you want a good laugh, you can google my name with “Albany football” for my last roster picture from 2016). I also enjoy listening to various podcasts and all types of music, from rap to indie. Some of my favorite artists are Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Lil Uzi Vert, Mumford and Sons, and Two Door Cinema Club, among others.

Once I conclude my PhD in Albany, I hope to continue my scientific research career by investigating the effects of concussions and other traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and their long-term impacts. Being able to combine two of my deepest passions, football and neuroscience, I feel that concussion research is a natural progression for myself as a scientist. Concussion research has been a hot topic of late in the Nation Football League, as it’s been made a paramount point to make the game safer, not just at the professional level but also at the collegiate, high school and youth levels. Being able to contribute to the research that makes the game I love potentially safer is a dream that I plan to pursue and make a reality!

Thank you all for taking a couple minute out of your day to get to know me a little better and I’m excited to see where this blog goes!

JP McCauley

JP is the recipient of the following awards:
2019           CAS Travel Award
2018           Runner Up Poster Presentation Award - Life Sciences Research Symposium
2017-19     TA at Ion Channels and Synaptic Transmission CSHL summer course
2017           Best Poster Presentation Award - Life Sciences Research Symposium
2017           Travel Award for Best Poster Presentation - SfN Hudson-Berkshire Chapter Meeting
2017           President's Award for Leadership - SUNY Albany

Ready...Steady...Go!

I would like to start my first post by saying that this is an experiment and, as such, I don't know the outcome but I am thrilled to see how everything will unfold!

I am a neuroscientist enthusiast and a gregarious person who would like to give a voice to young trainees that also share an interest in neuroscience but have limited experience in the field. The posts in this blog are not meant to be perfect or to be a masterpiece of any kind. They are just supposed to be opportunities to communicate something about ourselves: passions, dreams, fears and ideas are all welcome!

In the next few weeks we will introduce ourselves and then little by little, once we have warmed up, we will make this a platform for scientific discoveries in neuroscience.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those that agree to be part of this: it's often easier to be critical than creative. You're a pro!

Annalisa Scimemi