'Glia–The Other Brain' with Dr. Douglas Fields, April 18

Friday, April 18, 7-9 p.m. UAA/APU Consortium Library, Room 307

Neurons are the cellular basis of nervous system function, but most cells in the brain are not neurons and they do not fire electrical impulses. The discovery that these cells (glia) can communicate without electricity and can control information transmission between neurons has stimulated intense interest and research on these long-neglected brain cells. In this lecture, Dr. Douglas Fields will explain the major kinds of glial cells and discuss the wide variety of functions they perform. Glia are now understood to be critically involved in all aspects of nervous system function and disease.

This event, part of the 2014 Undergraduate Research & Discovery Symposium, is free and open to the public. Dr. Fields will also deliver the keynote address for the 2014 Behavioral Sciences Conference of the North.

About the speaker: R. Douglas Fields is chief of the Nervous System Development and Plasticity Section at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, where he has conducted research since 1987. He received his Ph.D. degree from UC San Diego and conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University, Yale University and the NIH on synaptic plasticity, myelination and axon conduction using electron microscopy, live-cell imaging and electrophysiology. Fields' long-standing interest is in how environmental experience and functional activity in the nervous system affect the developing structure and function of the nervous system. His current research emphasis is on neuron-glia interactions and, in particular, on regulation of myelination by impulse activity. In addition, his research explores synaptic plasticity (LTP, LTD and homeostatic plasticity) and regulation of gene expression by specific patterns of action potentials. He was founding editor of the journal Neuron Glia Biology from 2004-2011, and he currently serves on the editorial board of Glia and several other journals. He also writes about neuroscience for Scientific American and other popular science magazines. He is the author of a recent book about glia written for the general audience, The Other Brain.

April Archive