715 McDermot Avenue

Refreshments will be provided

EVERYONE WELCOME!

ABSTRACT

Cerebellar architecture is organized around the Purkinje cell.  Purkinje cells in the mouse cerebellum come in many different subtypes, organized first into four transverse zones and then further grouped into hundreds of reproducible topographical units (“stripes”).  Stripes are identified by their, functional properties, connectivity, and expression profiles: in particular, an elaborate array of alternating stripes that is highly reproducible between individuals and conserved through evolution.

First, the lecture will review the molecular patterning of the adult cerebellar cortex and its conservation through evolution.

Secondly, it will survey some of the mechanisms that lead to pattern formation during embryonic development.  Pattern formation in the cerebellar cortex is a multistage process that begins early in development with the generation of the various Purkinje cell subtypes, and matures through the dispersal of Purkinje cell clusters into stripes.