Mu-ming Poo

Bio: Mu-ming Poo is an academic researcher from Chinese Academy of Sciences. The author has contributed to research in topics: Long-term potentiation & Postsynaptic potential. The author has an hindex of 113, co-authored 263 publications receiving 47971 citations. Previous affiliations of Mu-ming Poo include Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute & University of California, Berkeley.

Synaptic Modifications in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons: Dependence on Spike Timing, Synaptic Strength, and Postsynaptic Cell Type

Abstract: In cultures of dissociated rat hippocampal neurons, persistent potentiation and depression of glutamatergic synapses were induced by correlated spiking of presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons. The relative timing between the presynaptic and postsynaptic spiking determined the direction and the extent of synaptic changes. Repetitive postsynaptic spiking within a time window of 20 msec after presynaptic activation resulted in long-term potentiation (LTP), whereas postsynaptic spiking within a window of 20 msec before the repetitive presynaptic activation led to long-term depression (LTD). Significant LTP occurred only at synapses with relatively low initial strength, whereas the extent of LTD did not show obvious dependence on the initial synaptic strength. Both LTP and LTD depended on the activation of NMDA receptors and were absent in cases in which the postsynaptic neurons were GABAergic in nature. Blockade of L-type calcium channels with nimodipine abolished the induction of LTD and reduced the extent of LTP. These results underscore the importance of precise spike timing, synaptic strength, and postsynaptic cell type in the activity-induced modification of central synapses and suggest that Hebb’s rule may need to incorporate a quantitative consideration of spike timing that reflects the narrow and asymmetric window for the induction of synaptic modification.

Neurotrophins as synaptic modulators

Abstract: The role of neurotrophins as regulatory factors that mediate the differentiation and survival of neurons has been well described. More recent evidence indicates that neurotrophins may also act as synaptic modulators. Here, I review the evidence that synaptic activity regulates the synthesis, secretion and action of neurotrophins, which can in turn induce immediate changes in synaptic efficacy and morphology. By this account, neurotrophins may participate in activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, linking synaptic activity with long-term functional and structural modification of synaptic connections.

Grand challenges in global mental health

Abstract: A consortium of researchers, advocates and clinicians announces here research priorities for improving the lives of people with mental illness around the world, and calls for urgent action and investment.

Neurotrophin regulation of neural circuit development and function

Abstract: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)--a member of a small family of secreted proteins that includes nerve growth factor, neurotrophin 3 and neurotrophin 4--has emerged as a key regulator of neural circuit development and function. The expression, secretion and actions of BDNF are directly controlled by neural activity, and secreted BDNF is capable of mediating many activity-dependent processes in the mammalian brain, including neuronal differentiation and growth, synapse formation and plasticity, and higher cognitive functions. This Review summarizes some of the recent progress in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurotrophin regulation of neural circuits. The focus of the article is on BDNF, as this is the most widely expressed and studied neurotrophin in the mammalian brain.

Synaptic Modification by Correlated Activity: Hebb's Postulate Revisited

Abstract: ■ Abstract Correlated spiking of pre- and postsynaptic neurons can result in strengthening or weakening of synapses, depending on the temporal order of spiking. Recent findings indicate that there are narrow and cell type‐specific temporal windows for such synaptic modification and that the generally accepted input- (or synapse-) specific rule for modification appears not to be strictly adhered to. Spike timing‐ dependent modifications, together with selective spread of synaptic changes, provide a set of cellular mechanisms that are likely to be important for the development and functioning of neural networks. When an axon of cell A is near enough to excite cell B or repeatedly or consistently takes part in firing it, some growth or metabolic change takes place in one or both cells such that A’s efficiency, as one of the cells firing B, is increased. Donald Hebb (1949)

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Abstract: 抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

Principles of Neural Science

Abstract: I have developed "tennis elbow" from lugging this book around the past four weeks, but it is worth the pain, the effort, and the aspirin. It is also worth the (relatively speaking) bargain price. Including appendixes, this book contains 894 pages of text. The entire panorama of the neural sciences is surveyed and examined, and it is comprehensive in its scope, from genomes to social behaviors. The editors explicitly state that the book is designed as "an introductory text for students of biology, behavior, and medicine," but it is hard to imagine any audience, interested in any fragment of neuroscience at any level of sophistication, that would not enjoy this book. The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or

Epithelial–mesenchymal transitions in tumour progression

Abstract: Without epithelial–mesenchymal transitions, in which polarized epithelial cells are converted into motile cells, multicellular organisms would be incapable of getting past the blastula stage of embryonic development. However, this important developmental programme has a more sinister role in tumour progression. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition provides a new basis for understanding the progression of carcinoma towards dedifferentiated and more malignant states.

Spontaneous fluctuations in brain activity observed with functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Abstract: The majority of functional neuroscience studies have focused on the brain's response to a task or stimulus. However, the brain is very active even in the absence of explicit input or output. In this Article we review recent studies examining spontaneous fluctuations in the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal of functional magnetic resonance imaging as a potentially important and revealing manifestation of spontaneous neuronal activity. Although several challenges remain, these studies have provided insight into the intrinsic functional architecture of the brain, variability in behaviour and potential physiological correlates of neurological and psychiatric disease.

Dissociable Intrinsic Connectivity Networks for Salience Processing and Executive Control

Abstract: Variations in neural circuitry, inherited or acquired, may underlie important individual differences in thought, feeling, and action patterns. Here, we used task-free connectivity analyses to isolate and characterize two distinct networks typically coactivated during functional MRI tasks. We identified a "salience network," anchored by dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) and orbital frontoinsular cortices with robust connectivity to subcortical and limbic structures, and an "executive-control network" that links dorsolateral frontal and parietal neocortices. These intrinsic connectivity networks showed dissociable correlations with functions measured outside the scanner. Prescan anxiety ratings correlated with intrinsic functional connectivity of the dACC node of the salience network, but with no region in the executive-control network, whereas executive task performance correlated with lateral parietal nodes of the executive-control network, but with no region in the salience network. Our findings suggest that task-free analysis of intrinsic connectivity networks may help elucidate the neural architectures that support fundamental aspects of human behavior.