Webinar: Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Calcium and Neurotransmitters in Awake Mouse Models of Epilepsy by InsideScientific

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Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Calcium and Neurotransmitters in Awake Mouse Models of Epilepsy

About

In this webinar, Dr. Vincent Magloire and Dr. Ken Berglund present their work on the spatiotemporal dynamics of neurotransmitter and calcium imaging during seizure evolution in awake head-fixed mice and models of epilepsy.

Focal epilepsy is associated with intermittent brief population discharges (interictal spikes) resembling sentinel spikes that often occur at seizure onset. Why interictal spikes self-terminate whilst seizures persist and propagate is incompletely understood. In the first part of this webinar, Dr. Magloire discusses their experimental design to image GABA and glutamate transients associated with electrographic epileptic activity in awake head-restrained mice using fluorescent sensors. The resulting spatiotemporal dynamics of GABA and glutamate transients during interictal spikes and at seizure onset reveal potential mechanisms of seizure generation and propagation.

In the second half of the webinar, Dr. Berglund discusses his recent discovery on intracellular calcium signals in neurons during cortical spreading depolarization (CSD) after seizures. The termination of seizure activity is marked by a quiescent postictal period where brain activity almost completely subsides. Although it may not appear in EEG, the postictal brain experiences a slow-propagating, global shift in electrical potential called spreading depolarization. His team apply intravital two-photon imaging and genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) in a mouse model of generalized seizures. To further elucidate the role of intracellular calcium signals, they monitored cytosolic and endoplasmic reticular (ER) calcium simultaneously through respective GECIs. Implications of these findings in seizure physiology and beyond are discussed.

Key Topics:

Imaging glutamate and GABA transients during epileptic activity in awake head-fixed mice.

Potential mechanisms of seizure onset; role of inhibitory restraint in preventing seizures.

Integration of various physiological recordings, including two-photon imaging, AC, and DC recording in an awake mouse.

Unique design and properties of a genetically encoded calcium indicator (GECI) for endoplasmic reticulum (ER).

Presenters

Vincent Magloire, PhD

Wellcome Senior Research Fellow, Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, Institute of Neurology, University College London

Vincent Magloire is currently a Wellcome Principal Investigator interested in how brain excitability is regulated and how its dysfunction leads to paroxysmal disorders, with a view to developing novel treatment strategies. After completing his PhD at the University of Bern, Swizterland, he moved to the UK to work with Prof. Ole Paulsen at the University of Cambridge on the cholinergic and glutamatergic modulation of cortical Up states. He then got interested in GABAergic modulation of physiological and pathological network activity such as seizures and joined the department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy to work with Prof. Dimitri Kullmann and Dr Ivan Pavlov. In 2019, he started his own research group within the department focusing on how the neurochemical environment shapes physiological and pathological brains activity.

Ken Berglund, PhD

Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, Emory University

Ken Berglund, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine. His primary research focus is optogenetic and chemogenetic tool development for neuroscience research. Since he joined Emory University in 2014, he and his colleagues have applied molecular neuromodulation he developed as experimental treatments for various neurological disease conditions in rodents, including epilepsy, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and peripheral nerve injury. His expertise also includes genetic functional and cellular imaging in mouse models. He has developed genetically encoded indicators for calcium and chloride, which revealed various physiological and pathological activity at cellular and subcellular levels in the mouse brain.

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