Dr. Alexei Verkhratsky - "Physiology of Astroglia"

                     Speaker | Alexei Verkhratsky, MD, PhD, D.Sc. Professor of Neurophysiology, Faculty of
                                       Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

                            Title | Physiology of Astroglia

                           Date | Monday, September 18th, 2023

                           Time | 4:00 PM

 In-Person Location | Rm 2173, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON

                           Host | Seojin Lee and Ain Kim, PhD Candidate, Kovacs Neuropathology Lab, Department of
                                       Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

              Co-Sponsor | Department of Physiology

       Speaker Details | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Verkhratsky
                                        https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=SURsyOIAAAAJ&hl=en

Short Abstract:
The integration and information processing in the brain occurs through close interactions of two cellular circuits represented by neuronal networks embedded into internally connected astroglial syncytia. Our understanding of glial function changed dramatically over last two decades. This change concerns the whole concept of how the brain is organized, and how the development, life and death of neural circuits are controlled. There is compelling evidence demonstrating that these are the astrocytes that are creating the compartmentalisation in the CNS, and these are the astrocytes that are able to integrate neurones, synapses, and brain capillaries into individual and relatively independent units. Astrocytes are fundamental element of the brain 'active milieu' that unifies all components of nervous tissue into a dynamic information processing system.