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| FACULTY BIOGRAPHY |
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| Rafael Yuste |
| Associate Professor |
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| Lab Website
Department of Neuroscience
Columbia Neuroscience
The goal of our laboratory is to understand the function of the cortical microcircuit. The cortex constitutes the larger part of the brain in mammals. In humans it is the primary site of mental functions like perception, memory, control of voluntary movements, imagination, language and music. No unitary theory of cortical function exists yet; nevertheless, the basic cortical microcircuitry develops in stereotyped fashion, is similar in different parts of the cortex and in different mammals, and has not changed much in evolution since its appearance. At the same time, the cortex participates in apparently widely different computational tasks, resembling a "Turing machine". Because of this, it is conceivable that a "canonical" cortical microcircuit may implement a relatively simple computation.
We use brain slices to study the cortical circuitry at the cellular and multicellular level. The techniques used are electrophysiology and a variety of optical methods, including infrared-DIC, voltage- and ion-sensitive dye imaging with cooled CCD cameras and two-photon microscopy. We also use biolistics transfection, electron microscopy and numerical simulations and modeling. We are focusing on two questions:
(1) What is the function of dendritic spines? Spines are an essential element in cortical circuits and are still poorly understood. Two-photon microscopy has enabled functional studies of dendritic spines and has shown that they compartmentalize calcium because of their morphological features and local calcium influx and efflux mechanisms. Spines have recently been shown to exhibit rapid morphological plasticity. This has raised the possibility that the function of the spine, or the synapse, is equally dynamic.
(2) What are the multicellular patterns of activity under spontaneous or evoked activation of the circuit? It is still unknown if adult cortical neurons respond individually, or if there are multicellular units of activation which may represent a functional state of the circuit, such as an attractor. Optical imaging of populations of cells may make it possible to visualize the circuit dynamics and explore if canonical microcircuits exist.
MedLine Listing of Dr. Yuste's Publications |
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Representative Recent Publications
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- Yuste, R. and Konnerth, A. (2005) Imaging in Neuroscience and Development: a Laboratory Manua Cold Spring Harbor Press Article
- MacLean J., Watson B., Aaron G., and Yuste R. (2005) Internal Dynamics Determine the Cortical Response to Thalamic Stimulation. Neuron 48: 811–823. Article
- Ikegaya Y., Aaron G., Cossart R., Aronov D., Lampl I., Ferster D., Yuste R (2004) Synfire Chains and Cortical Songs: Temporal Modules of Cortical Activity. Science 304 (5670): 559-564. Article
- Cossart R, Aronov D, Yuste R. (2003) Attractor dynamics of network UP states in the neocortex Nature 423: 283-8. Article
- Bonhoeffer, T. and Yuste, R. (2002) Spine motility: Phenomenology, Mechanisms and Function Neuron 35: 1019-1027.
- Kozloski J, Hamzei-Sichani F, Yuste R. (2001) Stereotyped position of local synaptic targets in neocortex Science 293(5531): 868-72. Article
- Yuste, R., Majewska, A. and Holthoff, K. (2000) From form to function: calcium compartmentalization in dendritic spines Nature Neurosci 3(7): 653-659.
- Peterlin Z.A., Kozloski J., Mao B.Q., Tsiola A., Yuste R. (2000) Optical probing of neuronal circuits with calcium indicators Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97(7): 3619-24.
- Yuste, R., Lanni, F. and Konnerth, A. (1999) Imaging Neurons: a Laboratory Manual Cold Spring Harbor Press Article
- Cash, S. and Yuste, R. (1999) Linear summation of excitatory inputs by CA1 pyramidal neurons Neuron 22: 383-394.
- Yuste, R. and Tank, D. W. (1996) Dendritic integration in mammalian neurons, a century after Cajal Neuron 16: 701-716. Article
- Yuste, R. and Denk, W. (1995) Dendritic spines as basic functional units of neuronal integration Nature 375: 682-684.
- Yuste, R., Peinado, A. and Katz L. C. (1992) Neuronal domains in developing neocortex Science 257: 665-669. Article
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