Synapse Development and Maturation

Dr. Rakic is currently at the Yale School of Medicine, Department of Neuroscience, where his main research interest is in the development and evolution of the human brain. After obtaining his MD from the University of Belgrade School of Medicine, his research career began in 1962 with a Fulbright Fellowship at Harvard University after which he obtained his graduate degrees in Developmental Biology and Genetics. He held a faculty position at Harvard Medical School for 8 years prior to moving to Yale University, where he founded and served as Chair of the Department of Neurobiology for 37 years, and also founder and director of the Kavli Institute for Neuroscience. In 2015, he returned to work full-time on his research projects, funded by US Public Health Services and various private foundations.He is well known for his studies of the development and evolution of the brain, in particular his discovery of basic cellular and molecular mechanisms of proliferation and migration of neurons in the cerebral cortex. He was president of the Society for Neuroscience and popularized this field with numerous lectures given in over 35 counties. In 2008, Rakic shared the inaugural Kavli Prize in Neuroscience with Thomas Jessell and Stan Grillner. He is currently the Dorys McConell Duberg Professor of Neuroscience and serves on Advisory Boards and Scientific Councils of a number of Institutions and Research Foundations. Dr. Rubenstein is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. He also serves as a Nina Ireland Distinguished Professor in Child Psychiatry at the Nina Ireland Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology. His research focuses on the regulatory genes that orchestrate development of the forebrain. Dr. Rubenstein's lab has demonstrated the role of specific genes in regulating neuronal specification, differentiation, migration and axon growth during embryonic development and on through adult life. His work may help to explain some of the mechanisms underlying human neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. Dr. Chen is Professor of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Research in her laboratory focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the generation of diverse cell types in the brain, and the assembly of these cell types into functional neural circuits. Dr. Chen completed her graduate study with Dr. Sidney Strickland at Stony Brook University-SUNY, and her post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Susan McConnell at Stanford University. She has 22 years of experience in genetics and developmental neurobiology research. Her laboratory has been funded by the March of Dimes Foundation, California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, and National Institute of Health. Dr. Kwan is Assistant Professor of Human Genetics and Research Assistant Professor in the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute at the University of Michigan Medical School. Research in his laboratory is aimed at the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie normal neural circuit assembly in the cerebral cortex and their dysregulation in human neurodevelopmental disorders, in particular autism spectrum disorder, fragile X syndrome, and schizophrenia. Dr. Kwan completed his graduate and post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Nenad Sestan at Yale School of Medicine. He has 14 years of experience in developmental neurobiology research and his worked has been recognized by awards from the Brain Research Foundation, March of Dimes Foundation, Simons Foundation, and Cajal Club.

• I: SYNAPTOGENESIS1. Molecular Composition of Developing Glutamatergic SynapsesA. Kimberley McAllister2. In Vivo Imaging of SynaptogenesisEdward S. Ruthazer3. Astrocytes and synaptogenesisCagla Eroglu and William Christopher Risher4. Genetic Analysis of SynaptogenesisDavid L. Van Vactor Jr.5. New Imaging Tools to Study SynaptogenesisMatthew B. Dalva and Sylvain Le Marchand6. Wnt SignalingPatricia C. Salinas7. Neurotrophin & synaptogenesisMoses Chao, Freddy Jeanneteau and Margarita Arango-Lievano8. Neuroligins and NeurexinsPeter Scheiffele9. Synapse Formation in the Developing Vertebrate Retina Wei Wei10. Synaptogenesis in the Adult CNS – HippocampusAlejandro Schinder11. Synaptogenesis in the Adult CNS–Olfactory SystemADI Mizrahi and Amit VinogradII: DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCES IN THE MATURATION OF INTRINSIC AND SYNAPSE-DRIVEN PATTERNS12. GABA: A Multifacet Device that Exerts a Crucial Role in Brain DevelopmentYehezkel Ben-Ari13. Chloride Homeodynamics Underlying Pathogenic Modal Shifts of GABA Actions Atsuo Fukuda14. Multimodal GABAA Receptor Functions on Cell DevelopmentAtsuo Fukuda15. GABAergic Signaling at Newborn Mossy Fiber–CA3 Synapses: Short- and Long-Term Activity-Dependent Plasticity ProcessesEnrico Cherubini and Marilena Griguoli16. Retinal Waves and their Role in Visual System Development Marla Feller17. Neurotransmitter Phenotype Plasticity: from calcium signaling to functional consequencesNicholas C. Spitzer and Michaël Demarque18. Developmental Sequences in the Maturation of Intrinsic and Synapse Driven PatternsArianna Maffei19. Functional maturation of neocortical inhibitory interneuronsAndrea Hasenstaub20. The role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in neural circuit development and functionAnita E. Autry21. Striatal circuit development and synapse maturationYevgenia Kozorovitskiy22. Cajal-Retzius and subplate cells: transient cortical neurons and circuits with long-term impactHeiko J. Luhmann23. AMPA receptor trafficking in the developing and mature glutamatergic synapseHarold D. MacGillavry