Project
Memory formation and consolidation in defined neurons of the cortex
The hippocampus and related structures (entorhinal cortex [EC], perirhinal cortex [PRh], etc.) play a vital role in transforming experience into long-term memories that are then stored in the cortex, however the cellular mechanisms that designate single neurons to be part of a memory trace remain unknown. Part of the difficulty in addressing the mechanisms of transformation of short-term to long-term memories is the distributed nature of the resulting “engram” at synapses throughout the cortex. There is some anatomical evidence to suggest that connections from the hippocampus via the EC and PR terminate predominantly in the upper layers of the vertebral cortex (Witter and Groenewegen, 1986). Layer 1 (L1) of the neocortex is also the locus of horizontal long-range axon fibers from many cortical regions carrying feedback information vital for cognitive processes (Felleman and Van Essen, 1991; Gilbert and Sigman, 2007; Larkum, 2013a). These two facts suggest that L1 acts as a nexus for long-range fibers carrying contextual Information and the signals for the long-term storage of this information. Finally, apart from a handful of local interneurons, L1 is dominated by the distal tuft dendrites of pyramidal neurons that are highly electrogenic (Larkum et al., 2009; Palmer et al., 2014). We therefore hypothesize that activity in projections from the parahippocampus leads to consolidation of memory at specific neuronal ensembles via synapses in L1 of the cortex, possibly influencing dendritic electrogenesis.
Image Cortical pyramidal neurons. Courtesy of Matthew Larkum and Mostafa Abdelhamid
Team
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Prof Matthew Larkum PhD
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Spokesperson, Head Larkum Lab
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Dr Mostafa Nashaat
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
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Jiyun Shin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
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Dr Guy Doron
Bayer Pharmaceuticals Berlin
Data Scientist (A04 Alumus)
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Dr Naoya Takahashi
Université de Bordeaux
Head Takahashi Lab (A04 Alumnus)
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Lisa De Mont
Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Student Helper 2018-2019
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Serenella Brinati
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Team Assistant & Secretary AG Larkum
Publications
Layer 6b is driven by intracortical long-range projection neurons
Timothy A. Zolnik, Julia Ledderose, Maria Toumazou, Thorsten Trimbuch, Tess Oram, Christian Rosenmund, Britta J. Eickholt, Robert N.S. Sachdev, Matthew E. Larkum
Cell Reports
Perirhinal input to neocortical layer 1 controls learning
Guy Doron, Jiyun N Shin, Naoya Takahashi, Moritz Drüke, Christina Bocklisch, Salina Skenderi, Lisa de Mont, Maria Toumazou, Julia Ledderose, Michael Brecht, Richard Naud and Matthew E Larkum
Science
Up and down states across somatosensory, entorhinal, and hippocampal cortices
John J Tukker, Prateep Beed, Dietmar Schmitz, Matthew E Larkum and Robert NS Sachdev
Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience
Perspective on the multiple pathways to changing brain states
Malinda LS Tantirigama, Timothy Zolnik, Benjamin Judkewitz, Matthew E. Larkum and Robert NS Sachdev
Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience
Active dendritic currents gate descending cortical outputs in perception
Naoya Takahashi, Christian Ebner, Johanna Sigl-Glöckner, Sara Moberg, Svenja Nierwetberg and Matthew E Larkum
Nature Neuroscience
General anesthesia decouples cortical pyramidal neurons
Mototaka Suzuki and Matthew E Larkum
Cell
Dynamic conjugate F-SHARP microscopy
Ioannis N Papadopoulos, Jean-Sebastien Jouhanneau, Naoya Takahashi, David Kaplan, Matthew Larkum, James Poulet and Benjamin Judkewitz
Light: Science & Applications
Effects of sexual experience and puberty on mouse genital cortex revealed by chronic imaging
Johanna Sigl-Glöckner, Eduard Maier, Naoya Takahashi, Robert Sachdev, Matthew Larkum, Michael Brecht
Current Biology
Whisking asymmetry signals motor preparation and the behavioral state of mice
Sina E Dominiak, Mostafa A Nashaat, Keisuke Sehara, Hatem Oraby, Matthew E Larkum, and Robert NS Sachdev
Journal of Neuroscience
Cellular mechanisms of conscious processing
Jaan Aru, Mototaka Suzuki and Matthew E Larkum
Trends in Cognitive Science