Abstract

Summary

All drugs of abuse, including opioids such as morphine, target the midbrain dopaminergic reward system and induce changes in synaptic transmission and neural circuit function laying the foundations for developing addictive behaviors. While a significant role for microglia and astrocytes in these neural circuit adaptations is becoming increasingly apparent, oligodendroglial lineage cells, a glial cell type that is particularly well positioned with its functions and interactions to contribute to addiction, remained unknown. This talk will focus on the previously unappreciated role of myelin plasticity in drug-evoked neural circuit adaptations which critically contribute to the behavioural reinforcing effects of opioids.

The Speaker

Belgin Yalcin is an Instructor at Stanford University. Her work focuses on activity-regulated myelin plasticity and its modulation of neural circuit function in health and disease. During her postdoctoral work at Stanford University working with Dr Michelle Monje, she investigatedneuron-oligodendroglia interactions and how this communication regulates myelination and brain function. Dr Yalcin received her PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2016. During her PhD with Dr Cahir O’Kane, she demonstrated that health and function of long motor neuron axons depend on the continuous and elaborate organization of endoplasmic reticulum tubules, disruptions of which may lead to axonal degeneration.