BIO SEMINAR:Activity-dependent Postnatal Maturation of Inhibitory and Excitatory Networks in the Neocortex

Time: July 4, 2025 14:30 Online(Zoom)

Zoom Meeting Address:

https://sabanciuniv.zoom.us/j/97186348569?pwd=kiaa4upRhf7AbyHjXlvoI43iX6WO0U.1
Meeting ID: 971 8634 8569
Passcode: 632996

Abstract: In the brain, GABAergic inhibitory interneurons and excitatory interneurons are born in different embryonic brain regions and get integrated into their respective locations during development. Highly synchronized activity dominates the early network activity while desynchronization occurs gradually giving rise to a more complex brain function. This desynchronization happens in parallel to the increased sensory input arriving in the brain and the maturation of the interneurons within the neuronal circuits. Murine somatosensory cortex offers a good model to study sensory dependent maturation of GABAergic inhibitory interneurons and the neuronal networks they belong to. GABAergic inhibitory interneurons are the only residents of the layer I which integrates top down and bottom up signals. Cxcl14 is an orphan chemokine that is selectively expressed in a subset of layer I interneurons named single bouquet cells (SBC) in the neocortex. Cxcl14 expression is regulated with sensory input and plays an essential role in morphological and electrophysiological maturation of layer I interneurons as well as the layer I and layers II/III neuronal networks during early brain development. Our study gives insights into the rules of the coordinated maturation of inhibitory and excitatory networks in the neocortex.

1. Iannone AF*, Akgül G*, Zhang R, Wacks S, Husein N, Macias, CG, Donatelle A, Bauriedel JMJ, Wright C, Abramov D, Johnson MA, Govek EE, Burré J, Milner TA, Garcia De Marca NV. The chemokine Cxcl14 regulates circuit assembly in the somatosensory cortex. Cell Reports; 2024; Jul 25;43(8):114531. *equal contribution.

2. Akgül G, Abebe D, Yuan XQ, Auville K, and McBain CJ. The role of AMPARs in the maturation and integration of caudal ganglionic eminence-derived interneurons into developing hippocampal microcircuits. Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):5435. Published 2019 Apr 1. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-41920-9

3. Goz RU, Akgül G, and LoTurco JJ. BRAFV600E expression in neural progenitors results in a hyperexcitable phenotype in neocortical pyramidal neurons. J Neurophysiol. B; doi:10.1152/jn.00523.2019

Bio:Dr. Gülcan Akgül received her BSc from Bilkent University and a Ph.D. from Stony Brook University in the USA, where she worked with Dr. Lonnie Wollmuth studying the functional role of the postsynaptic proteins in interneuron maturation in mouse visual cortex. During a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Chris McBain at the National Institutes of Health in the USA, she studied the role of excitatory synaptic transmission in the maturation of hippocampal interneurons, network activity and animal behavior. She then moved to the University of Connecticut and worked with Dr. Joseph LoTurco on the disease models in the mouse brain using Crispr/Cas9 system. There, she got the NARSAD Young Investigator Award. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Research at Weill Cornell Medical College where she focuses on the maturation of inhibitory and excitatory neuronal networks in the brain during postnatal development.

BIO SEMINAR:Activity-dependent Postnatal Maturation of​ Inhibitory and Excitatory Networks in the Neocortex

BIO SEMINAR:Activity-dependent Postnatal Maturation of Inhibitory and Excitatory Networks in the Neocortex