Vesicle Dynamics and Synaptic Plasticity

Dr. Cillian King, Ana Rita Quadros and colleagues published their work on the modulation of cilia structure in the brain in Scientific Reports

A European consortium coordinated by CNCR investigator Ruud Toonen receives 1 million euros for epilepsy research.

Epileptic seizures arise when the activity of the brain gets out of control. A large research team at CNCR has investigated how the brain controls its activity and identified a new molecular pathway involving the synaptic protein Munc18-1 that helps the brain to slow down when activity gets too high. The study appeared in EMBO Journal.

Ruud Toonen, in collaboration with Prof. Hoogenraad (UU, Utrecht) and Dr. Rüdiger (UU, Utrecht), receives a 670k€ ZonMW TOP grant to study the role of axonal transport in neurodegenerative diseases.

FGA PhD-student Cijsouw and PI Toonen present a new mouse model, expressing a fluorescently tagged version of a protein, Munc18-1. This protein is essential for synaptic transmission. Their findings are published in the march issue of the JCB.