HMC Physics Colloquium
Tuesdays at 16:30 in Shanahan Center for Teaching and Learning, Room B460
Jerry Pine
Caltech
Studying the Development of Cultured Neural Networks
Oct. 7, 2008
Brain neurons can be dissociated from embryos and grown in culture dishes, where they form functionally connected neural networks. The details of this development can be studied in small cultures, where all the connections can be mapped by stimulating individual neurons and observing the responses of all others. A new technology that permits this to be done nondestructively over time will be described, along with preliminary results.