Anna Fejtová

Head of Molecular Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University Hospital Erlangen and Research Group Leader of Presynaptic Plasticity at the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology Magdeburg

It is evident that plasticity of neurotransmitter release is based on dynamic modulation of involved molecular release machinery. What are the means enabling and controlling this molecular flexibility? To understand this, we investigate 1) the cellular mechanisms and signaling pathways driving fast molecular rearrangements at the presynapse, which presumably trigger the rapid changes in presynaptic efficacy and 2) the signaling from presynapse to nucleus, which induces reconfiguration of gene expression patterns important for persistent changes of circuit function. We study how these processes modify the release apparatus during experienceinduced and homeostatic neuronal plasticity and place emphasis on testing their significance in aberrant presynaptic plasticity in neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: presynaptic release sites – synapse-to nucleus signaling – activity-dependent gene expression – synaptopathies

Location: LIN, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg

Webpage: Link