Regression Models for Dissecting Transcriptional Regulatory Network

Dr. Ning Sun

Dissecting transcriptional regulatory network is an important issue in biology. With the availability of many types of large-scale genomic data, various statistical modeling approaches have been proposed to integrate different genomic data for network reconstruction. Regression models are commonly used in this context to relate the observed gene expression data with their underlying regulations. However, different regression models make different assumptions and contain different covariates and their interactions. This talk will discuss the performance of different regression models on learning transcription regulatory network.

T-type Calcium channels in thalamic sensory gating and other brain functions: from genes to behavior

Dr. Hee-Sup

The thalamus is actively engaged in shaping and modulating the afferent signals from the periphery to relay to the cortex. The intrinsic properties of thalamocortical relay (TC) neurons play an important role in this ‘sensory gating’ process. For example, burst spike activities of TC neurons that are driven by low threshold Ca2+ currents mediated by α1G T-type channels appear to set the ‘closed gate’ state. Thus, mice lacking the thalamic burst firing due to a deletion of the α1G T-type channel show hyperalgesic responses to persistent pain, accompanied by an increase in pain-encoding tonic spikes in TC neurons. Furthermore, the mutant mice show resistance to the development of absence seizures and sleep disturbances. These phenotypes can all be attributed to the impairment of the mutant mice in the sensory gating function of the thalamus. In addition to the role in the sensory signaling process, the thalamus is also involved in other brain functions. Recently, we have been studying the role of the thalamus in modulation of memory. These results together suggest that burst firings in the thalamus may be involved in the `control of information transfer at different levels. I will briefly review the roles of the thalamocortical circuit and discuss new findings that are relevant to the issue.