Thomas Klausberger
Department of Cognitive Neurobiology, Medical University of Vienna
Prefrontal Network Dynamics for Cognition
12:00 pm, Wednesday 13 November 2019
Location: Oxford Martin School
Abstract: The distributed temporal activity in neuronal circuits of the prefrontal cortex combines emotional information with episodic and spatial memory to guide behavioural action. The cerebral cortex consists of highly diverse neuronal types with distinct synaptic connectivity, molecular expression profile and contribution to network activity. Neurons can be divided into excitatory pyramidal cells, which use glutamate as a neurotransmitter and give both local and long-range axonal projections, and inhibitory interneurons, which are GABAergic and control the activity and timing of pyramidal cells mainly through local axons. These neurons can be further subdivided on the basis of their distinct axo-dendritic arborisations, subcellular post-synaptic targets, and by their differential expression of signalling molecules. We aim to determine how distinct types of neuron support the computational operations of the prefrontal cortex. During my presentation, I will discuss how the temporal dynamics and firing pattern of distinct neurons in the prefrontal cortex evolve during working memory, decision making and gambling.
Biography: Thomas Klausberger is Head of the Center for Brain Research at the Medical University of Vienna. He studied biochemistry at the University of Vienna and completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Werner Sieghart before joining Peter Somogyi’s laboratory in the MRC Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit at the University of Oxford, initially as a postdoctoral fellow. Klausberger rose to the rank of MRC Senior Scientist at Oxford before taking up a Professorship at the Center for Brain Research at the Medical University of Vienna. His lab investigates how identified neurons in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus contribute to network operations, oscillations, and cognitive behaviour.
Thomas Klausberger is Head of the Center for Brain Research at the Medical University of Vienna. He studied biochemistry at the University of Vienna and completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Werner Sieghart before joining Peter Somogyi’s laboratory in the MRC Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit at the University of Oxford, initially as a postdoctoral fellow. Klausberger rose to the rank of MRC Senior Scientist at Oxford before taking up a Professorship at the Center for Brain Research at the Medical University of Vienna. His lab investigates how identified neurons in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus contribute to network operations, oscillations, and cognitive behaviour.