Seminar:Astrocyte - Neuronal interactions, from physiology to pathology
Title: Astrocyte - Neuronal interactions, from physiology to pathology 
Speaker: Xiaoping Tong Ph D .
Time: 10:00-11:00 am ,2014.3.4
Place: Room 701, Office building, school of medicine
Education:
2013.07 – Present, Postdoctoral scholar, Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA
2009.07 – 2013.06, Postdoctoral scholar, Department of Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA
2004.09 – 2009.07, Ph.D in Neurobiology, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
2001.09 – 2004.07, Master in Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
1998.09 – 2001.07, Residential doctor, Anqing 1st Hospital, Anqing, Anhui, China
1993.09 – 1998.07, Bachelor in Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
potassium ions, control blood flow, contribute to synapse formation, respond to neuronal excitation and contribute to injury and disease. Here we found that, 1) In the hippocampus, astrocyte resting Ca2+ source mediated by TRPA1 channel regulates the interneurons inhibitory synapse efficacy through GABA transporter GAT-3; 2) In striatum, astrocyte Kir4.1 ion channels dysfunction leads to elevated in vivo levels of striatal extracellular K+, which increases medium spiny neuron (MSN) excitability in the Huntington’s disease model mice. These two novel findings enrich our understandings of how astrocytes function and integrate the neuronal circuits in physiological and pathological conditions within the brain.
