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Spring 03 Complete brain and cognitive sciences MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Spring 2003 Volume V; Issue 2 MESSAGE FROM THE MATT WILSON small private college, and Matt developed DEPARTMENT HEAD an affinity for football. Hes been a Packer fan ever since and he and his sons go to the MRIGANKA SUR games in cheese head apparel. The affairs of the department are He attended a parochial school where usually concerned with local details, but the nuns practiced corporal punishment, as the Spring term gets into full swing, and he has vivid memories of having his two national events have assumed major mouth taped shut for talking too much significance for MIT and for us: the (even though he claims to have been very economy and the war. The downturn in shy). Matt likes to characterize himself as the economy has had a significant negative shy but devilish, not overtly delinquent, impact on the MIT operating budget and but lacking a sense of conformity. He likes hence on the departments budget. Like all doing things outside the norm, seeks new other departments, BCS faces a cut in its challenges, and particularly prefers being on budget allocation for July 03 - June 04. the forefront of mischief and academics. The war in Iraq has brought a heightened In his high school days, Matt was sense of tension and apprehension to our interested in constructing things, and spent campus. President Vest has created a a summer building a harpsichord that he Committee on the Community, led by still has. Then, when he got his first Matt and youngest son, Brian Chancellor Phil Clay, to provide guidelines computer, an Apple II, he modified it until for preserving our community and its Matts father was an anthropologist it was his own personal computing device. values, given the challenges and opportu- and his mother, a professional operatic He knew all the OS code by heart at the nities of the current world situation (for singer in Korea, where he was born. His machine language level. He also became specific recommendations and details, see parents had met in Aspen, then moved to interested in programming and was http://web.mit.edu/community/). Korea as Presbyterian missionaries. The admonished by the principal for hacking At the same time, our educational and first 7 years of his life were spent in both into the schools mainstream computer just research mission continues unabated. MIT countries, before finally settling in Green to look around. At the same time, remains committed to the brain and Bay, WI, where both parents worked at a (contd on p. 8) cognitive sciences project, for which the building plans are now complete. A series SPRING 2003 CALENDAR OF EVENTS of groundbreaking ceremonies (at least one Mondays Brain Lunch for each entity: the Department of Brain Tuesdays Cog Lunch and Cognitive Sciences, the McGovern Wednesdays Brains & Machines Lecture Series (http://www.ai.mit.edu/ Institute for Brain Research, and The events/talks/brainsMachines/brainsMachines.shtml) Picower Center for Learning and Alternate Thursdays Plastic Lunch (http://monster.mit.edu/nedivi-lab/ Memory) is planned for late April through plasticlunch.html) May (please see story and pictures on pp Fridays Departmental Colloquia Followed by tea 4 and 5 of this newsletter). The project is slated for completion by Fall 2005. In the meantime, space has been allocated in E19 SPECIAL EVENTS: for new faculty labs for PCLM and Friday, March 14: Bidwell Lecture, E25-111, 4:00 PM. Dennis Selkoe, MIBR, and for MIBR headquarters. Ph.D., Professor, Harvard Medical School & Director, Center for Neuro Two new faculty members appointed logic Diseases, Brigham & Womens Hospital to BCS last year started their appoint- Presenilin and Notch: The Intersection of Development and Alzheimers ments this spring. Mark Bear, who is Disease moving his lab from Brown University, Friday, April 18: Teuber Lecture, E25-111, 4:00 PM. John Hopfield, Ph.D., joined the BCS/PCLM faculty on February 1 and will be housed on the 5th Howard A. Prior Professor, Dept. of Molecular Biology, Princeton Univ. (contd on p. 6) Computing with Spike Timing PagePage 2 2 VolumeVolume IIV;, Issue Issue 1 2 CARLOS LOIS in the brains of adult animals, a process phenomenon of adult neurogenesis is known as adult neurogenesis. The head of that it goes against everything we think the lab was studying adult neurogenesis in we know about how the brain works. canaries and finches; however Carlos We think of the brain as having a fixed proposed doing such studies on mice for two set of neurons, and when new informa- reasons: First, he thought at the time, who tion has to be stored, all that is needed cares about birds? Second, the techniques is a change in the connections of to perform genetic manipulations were not neurons already there. But just available for birds. The P.I., Arturo Alvarez- changing connections might not be Buylla, agreed to let him pursue his thesis enough for some kinds of learning. To research on neurogenesis in the brain of adult store new information it might be mice. necessary to change the entire neuron. As a postdoc, he wanted training in The situation may be analogous to a molecular biology, so he went to David computer: we can update it by installing Baltimores lab, then located at MIT. newer versions of the software, but Baltimore had never worked with the brain, eventually this is not enough and we but was agreeable to Carlos proposal. There need a new computer. In addition to its was an open question he sought to explore: role in learning and behavior, adult are neurons genetically different from each neurogenesis may have an application other? Every cell of the liver is genetically for treatment of neurological disorders identical to every other liver cell. The same in humans. For instance, in the future it Carlos comes from a family that enjoys is true of cells of the skin and of the bones. might be possible to steer the neurons studying. His mother is a lawyer, his But, as Susumu Tonegawa discovered in produced in adulthood in humans to father is an industrial chemist, and his 1974, every lymphocyte in the blood is replace the neurons lost in Parkinsons sister is a law professor. After attending genetically different from every other or Alzheimers disease. medical school in Valencia, Spain, where lymphocyte. Since 1960, it was postulated Though its clear that Carlos really he was born, Carlos came to the U.S., that such was also the case of brain neurons, enjoys his research, he does stop for where he got his Ph.D. from Rockefeller but nobody had proved or disproved that fun. In California, he engaged in surfing University. Hed never intended to be a hypothesis. Carlos spent a few years trying and windsurfing. Given the New doctor, but thought the education would to design experiments and techniques to England weather, his interest in movies give him an additional perspective as a study this, but neither he nor anyone else has is more practical. He goes about 3 scientist. been successful in this pursuit. It may be times/week and, though he likes most Growing up, he always had an interest that were not ready yet to attack this kinds of movies except those with in animals, perhaps because his home question. Perhaps in another 10 years he explosions -, he does prefer foreign bordered on a forest that had a variety of will address it again. films. He also likes to read novels, in species, particularly lizards. Lizards are However, having developed an arsenal of particular from European, Russian, and unique, because when they are being tools for the failed project, he decided to South American authors. He enjoys chased, they have special muscles that return to reality and do something that classical music and jazz, but claims that allow them to cut off their tail and, later actually worked. Using some of the tools given the quality of his own piano and on, grow a new tail. This is a survival hed developed, he could now perform guitar playing he would not inflict his mechanism that is particularly effective genetic manipulations in birds that could not music on friends that he would like to when being chased by predators such as be done before. The production of new keep as such. He likes all kinds of food, cats. The disembodied tail would distract neurons in adult animals is best studied in and while he is a terrible cook, he excels the cat while the lizard escaped. In birds because these new neurons incorporate at take out. addition, his grandfather was a neurolo- in the brain in areas that mediate song Hes traveled throughout most of the gist, and Carlos knew many of his learning and song production. It is a big world, as his family went abroad for 2 quadriplegic and paraplegic patients and advantage that song is a robust behavior in or 3 weeks every year since he was 6. was impressed by their disabilities. Carlos birds, and that each animal really sings a Now, instead of visiting them in Spain, wondered why lizards could regrow body different song that is very reliable, reproduc- they all meet in some other country, parts while we cant. Thus, his interest in ible, and easy to quantify. Therefore, it is combining tourism with their reunions. regeneration was awakened. possible to investigate the function of the This is his first year at MIT and hes At Rockefeller, hed planned to study adult-generated neurons by studying a clearly very happy to be here.
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