Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for the Biology of Memory Annual report 2011 Annual report 2011 Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for the Biology of Memory The KI/CBM staff, March 2012. (Photo: Matias Okawa) Front page: The cover image shows the firing rate plot of a single entorhinal grid cell, with blue indicating a low firing rate and red indicating a high firing rate. The different spatial scales of grid cells along the dorsal-ventral axis of the medial entorhinal cortex suggest the presence of multiple spatial maps, as represented by the mosaic appearance of the grid cell. Illustration: Lisa Giocomo 2 Annual report 2011 Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for the Biology of Memory CoNTENTS NTNU The protein that controls the brain’s “zoom fuction” ....................................... 2 Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Bats have grid cells, too .................................................................................... 4 the Biology of Memory Two neurons in the same pub are not necessarily friends ............................... 6 Eric Kandel receives honorary doctorate from NTNU ....................................... 8 ERC Grant to May-Britt Moser ........................................................................... 8 NORBRAIN receives MNOK 80 grant ................................................................. 9 ”Teleportation” shows that memories have a quantal nature .......................... 10 Norway has a new brain centre ......................................................................... 12 Nordic and European awards go to KI/CBM leaders ........................................ 13 Excellent results give SPACEBRAIN an afterlife .............................................. 14 ”Undoubtedly excellent research” .................................................................... 15 The media loves brain science .......................................................................... 16 KI/CBM broadens into new research areas ...................................................... 17 Who’s who at KI/CBM ......................................................................................... 18 Annual accounts ................................................................................................ 23 Publications ........................................................................................................ 24 Centre of Excellence Medical-Technical Research Centre The Biology of Memory and Systems Neuroscience ......................................... 25 NO-7489 Trondheim, Norway Telephone: + 47 73 59 82 42 Telefax: + 47 73 59 82 94 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: ntnu.no/cbm Annual Report published by the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuro- science and Centre for the Biology of Memory. KI/CBM – a brief history Editor: Director Edvard Moser The Centre for the Biology of Memory (CBM) was established at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in 2002 as a Centre of Excellence (CoE) Text: with funding for ten years from the Research Council of Norway. Bjarne Røsjø, BR Media Hege Tunstad, KI/CBM In 2007, the Norwegian-American physicist, businessman, billionaire and philanthropist Translation: Fred Kavli selected CBM as one of 15 prestigious Kavli Institutes. The CBM is the Nancy Bazilchuk, Bazilchuk Ink only Norwegian institute to be thus honoured to date. The appointment means the department gets about NOK 7 million in annual support from the Kavli Foundation Layout & print: for the foreseeable future, in addition to tremendous international recognition. Fagtrykk, NO-7005 Trondheim As a result of its history, the centre now has two names: the Kavli Institute for Systems Number printed: Neuroscience and the Centre for the Biology of Memory (KI / CBM). After 2012, when 400 the CoE period expires, the centre will “only” be the Kavli Institute for Systems Download: Neuroscience. The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research has indicated a ntnu.no/cbm/publications willingness to continue with funding after the CoE period ends. 1 Annual report 2011 Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for the Biology of Memory The protein that controls the brain’s “zoom function” The brains of rats and mice make mental maps of their surroundings at multiple levels, from coarse overviews to fine- grained, detailed maps. Researchers at the KI/CBM have shown that a specific protein controls the brain’s “zoom function”: If the protein does not work, the brain loses its ability to create detailed maps. In 2005, KI/CBM researchers discovered edition of the scientific journal Cell, that the brains of rats contain grid cells, researcher Lisa Giocomo and colleagues which are specialized neurons that work at the KI/CBM described how they together to create a grid for the mental knocked out a specific kind of ion channel map that a rat makes of its surroundings. in the grid cells in the brains of mice. The grid in the rat brain bears an amazing When the HCN1 channels were disabled, resemblance to the coordinate lines on the resolution of the maps created a normal map, except that the grids in by the brain became coarser. “This is a rat’s map are triangular instead of compar able to losing every other longi- square. Grid cells are found in the part tude and latitude line on a regular map, of the brain called the entorhinal cortex. which would mean you wouldn’t get a Lisa Giocomo came to the KI/CBM in Trondheim good representation of the environment as a postdoctoral fellow in 2008 and now leads Four years after this finding, KI/CBM re- at a detailed level,” Giocomo explains. a research group at the Institute. (Photo: Lisa searchers discovered that the grid cells Giocomo) in the rat brain create a number of dif- ferent maps of varying resolution, from The neuron’s power supply thousand in a grid cell. Entorhinal grid coarse overview maps that cover larger cells have a much higher proportion of areas, to maps where the grid’s “mesh” The ion channels in cell membranes HCN channels compared to many (but not is much finer and contains many details. can be described as the neuron’s power all) other types of neurons in the brain. It was later shown that grid cells are supply. “If the cell is compared to a light also found in mice and bats, and there bulb, then turning on an ion channel Researchers at the KI/CBM have thus are indications that they are found in can be thought of as supplying a little found that a small part of the grid most species of mammals. bit more electricity to the light bulb. cells’ power supply, specifically the ion And if enough ion channels are active, channels known as HCN1, regulates or the right combination is active, you the neuron’s ability to create detailed Detailed maps disappear ‘ll get enough electricity to turn on maps of the animal’s surroundings. But the light bulb. But a neuron is much what do all of the other ion channels All cells – including grid cells – are more comp licated than a light bulb, of do? Giocomo doesn’t know the answer surrounded by a biological membrane course,” Giocomo adds. yet, but she would like to find out more. that separates the cell’s interior from “There are a lot of obvious follow-up its external environment. Among other A grid cell or any other type of neuron questions to this research. Maybe there things, the cell membrane includes a that is “turned on” by the electrical cur- are other types of ion channels that are number of channels or pores that regu- rents through ion channels is then in a contributing to the larger scale maps in late the transport of ions (electrically position to react by firing an electrical the brain, or maybe there are entirely charged atoms or molecules) in and out signal – an action potential - to another other types of mechanisms that are of the cell. These ion channels often neuron. Action potentials are the tech- gene rating the larger scale representa- consist of a single protein, and researchers nique that cells use to communicate tions of the environment,” she suggests. at KI /CBM are now studying which func- with each other. tions can be controlled by the channels. There are thousands of individual ion Head of a new Kavli group Everybody knows how to zoom in and channels in a single neuron. No one out on an online map to get the level of knows for certain how many of them are Lisa Giocomo completed her PhD at resolution you need to get you where HCN1 ion channels, but there might be Boston University in 2008 with a project you want to go. In the 16 November 2011 several hundred to as many as a few that focused on examining how the grid 2 Annual report 2011 Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for the Biology of Memory HCN1+/+ HCN1-/- N C N C Dorsal Entorhinal Grid Cell Ventral Entorhinal Grid Cell Entorhinal grid cells are reminiscent of a longitude and latitude coordinate Grid cells are found in the entorhinal cortex, which is found in system. The scale of the brain’s grid map is set by HCN1 channels, so close proximity to the hippocampus in the brain of rats, mice when HCN1 is lost, the resolution of the grid map is decreased. and other mammals. (Illustration: Lisa Giocomo) (Photo: Lisa Giocomo) cells in the entorhinal cortex communi- researchers at the Kavli Institute for Another aspect of the story is that the cate. It was during this work that she be- Brain Science at Columbia University in same mice that lost the ability to create gan to suspect that the HCN1 channels