Keynote lecture

SCHINDER AF

Congreso; 17th International Neuroscience Winter Conference, Solden, Austria; 2015

A novel view of neurogenesis and memory encoding in the dentate gyrusAlejandro F. SchinderNeuronal Plasticity LabLeloir Institute (CONICET) ? Buenos Aires ? Argentina aschinder@leloir.org.arThe dentate gyrus is the first relay station in information flow from the entorhinal cortex towards the hippocampus, and it plays a crucial role in memory processing. A remarkable feature of the dentate circuitry is the high degree of plasticity conveyed by its ability to generate and integrate new principal neurons (granule cells, GCs) through life. Extensive evidence indicates that adult-born GCs are important for specific forms of memory, and my laboratory is focused on understanding the precise modifications of local dentate networks produced by the incorporation of newly generated GCs. Adult-born GCs develop and connect over several weeks before they achieve complete morpho-functional maturation. Our recent findings indicate that developing GCs at different stages of maturation may play distinct roles in memory encoding. In my talk I will focus on recent experimental data applying optogenetics and chemogenetics to dissect changes in local microcircuits by adult neurogenesis, highlight the critical role of GABAergic interneurons, and propose a novel view on how newborn GCs may contribute to memory encoding.