Prof. Dr. Helmut Kessels

Host: Christiaan Levelt Group leader Levelt group. Email: c.levelt@nin.knaw.nl

Guest speaker:

Prof. Dr. Helmut Kessels
Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam

Title: AMPA-receptor plasticity in health and disease.

Abstract:

AMPA-receptor plasticity controls adaptive behavior. Glutamatergic synapses have predominantly two types AMPA-receptors: those containing subunit GluA1 and those containing GluA3. GluA1- and GluA3-containing AMPARs have a different form of synaptic plasticity. Whereas the first plays a critical role in learning, the latter appears to play a role in the processing of learned information during sleep. In Alzheimer disease models, amyloid- beta oligomers trigger the loss of GluA3-containing synapses, leading to an impairment in memory processing. AMPA-receptor plasticity is also involved in other types of adaptive responses, such as an improvement in health when enjoying a high social status.