Biophysics Seminar- “The Cone photoreceptor synapse at nanoscale: Imaging with MINFLUX and DNA PAINT” with Prof. Steve DeVries (Northwestern University)
Biophysics Seminar
November 1, 2024
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Location
SELE 2101
Calendar
Download iCal FileSteven H. DeVries
Professor, Ophthalmology & Neuroscience
Northwestern University
Professor, Ophthalmology & Neuroscience
Northwestern University
Under conditions of daylight, the light-sensitive cone photoreceptor outer segment produces an analog electrical response that passively invades the cone synapse to gate the release of the neurotransmitter glutamate. The cone synapse is unusual both in transmitting analog signals and distributing those signals to over a dozen types of post-synaptic neurons at over 400 individual contacts. The complex pattern of connections at the compact surface of the cone synapse has been compared to an integrated circuit. My lab studies how the synapse uses diffusion distance, contact number, and postsynaptic receptor properties to effect linear and non-linear transformations on the cone signal. We also map the locations of transmitter release sites and the distributions of receptors at the nm level using MINFLUX super-resolution microscopy
Date posted
Sep 25, 2024
Date updated
Oct 30, 2024