Aug
12
Mon
2013
Delegate Talk: BrainSurfer- A Novel Neurofeedback Tool for ADHD Training @ Amriteshwari Hall
Aug 12 @ 3:25 pm – 3:35 pm
Delegate Talk: BrainSurfer- A Novel Neurofeedback Tool for ADHD Training @ Amriteshwari Hall | Vallikavu | Kerala | India

David Ibanez, Laura Dubreuil and Alejandro Rier


Neurofeedback (NF) is a type of biofeedback that uses real time display of electroencephalography to illustrate brain activity. EEG features are extracted and displayed allowing the user to, with practice, modulate their temporal evolution. Neurofeedback training has many therapeutic applications such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), migraine, depression or conduct disorders. This document presents NeuroSurfer, a novel general-purpose tool for neurofeedback training with a use case of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment.

Aug
13
Tue
2013
Plenary Talk: Interspike Interval Distribution of Neuronal Model with distributed delay: Emergence of unimodal, bimodal and Power law @ Sathyam Hall
Aug 13 @ 1:20 pm – 2:00 pm

karmeshuKarmeshu, Ph.D.
Dean & Professor, School of Computer & Systems Sciences & School of Computational & Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India.


Interspike Interval Distribution of Neuronal Model with distributed delay: Emergence of unimodal, bimodal and Power law

The study of interspike interval distribution of spiking neurons is a key issue in the field of computational neuroscience. A wide range of spiking patterns display unimodal, bimodal  ISI patterns including power law behavior. A challenging problem is to understand the biophysical mechanism which can generate  the empirically observed patterns. A neuronal model with distributed delay (NMDD) is proposed and is formulated as an integro-stochastic differential equation which corresponds to a non-markovian process. The widely studied IF and LIF models become special cases of this model. The NMDD brings out some interesting features when excitatory rates are close to inhibitory  rates rendering the drift close to zero. It is interesting that NMDD model with gamma type memory kernel can also account for bimodal ISI pattern. The mean delay of the memory kernels plays a significant role in bringing out the transition from unimodal to bimodal  ISI distribution. It is interesting to note that when a collection of neurons group together and fire together, the ISI distribution exhibits  power law.

 

Invited Talk: Cancer Stem Cells – Target Colon Cancer @ Acharya Hall
Aug 13 @ 4:25 pm – 5:04 pm

ShrikantShrikant Anant, Ph.D.
The Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, Kansas University Medical Center, USA


Cancer Stem Cells: Target Colon Cancers

Shrikant Anant, Deep Kwatra and Dharmalingam Subramaniam

Colon cancer is a leading cause of cancer related deaths in the US, and its rate is increasing at an alarming rate in lndia. Recent studies have suggested the drug resistance role for a mall number of cells within a tumor called cancer stem cells. We identified the colon cancer stem cell marker DCLK1, a member of the protein kinase superfamily and the doublecortin family. The protein encodes a Cterminal serinethreonine protein kinase domain, which shows substantial homology to Ca2calmodulindependent protein kinase. Our current studies have been to identify compounds that can either affect DCLK1 expression or inhibits its activity as a way to inhibit cancer stem cells. Honokiol is a biphenolic compound that has been used in the traditional Chinese Medicine for treating various ailments. In vitro kinase assays with recombinant DCLK1 demonstrated that honokiol inhibits its kinase activity in a dose dependent manner. We therefore determined the effect of honokiol on stem cells. One method to look at effects on stem cells is perform a spheroid assay, where spheroids formation is suggested to maintain stemlike characteristic of cancer cells. Honokiol significantly suppressed colonosphere formation of two colon cancer cell lines HCT116 and SW480. Flow cytometry studies confirmed that honokiol reduced the number of DCLK1cells. A critical signaling pathway known to modulate intestinal stem cell proliferation is the Hippo signaling pathway, and deregulation of the pathway leads to tumor development. DCLK1cells had high levels of YAP1, the nuclear target of Hippo signaling. We determined the effect of honokiol on components of the hipposignaling pathway. Honokiol reduced the phosphorylation of Mst1/2, Lats1/2 and YAP1. Furthermore, honokiol treatment resulted in downregulation of YAPTEAD complex protein TEAD-1. Ectopic expression of the TEAD-1 partially rescued the cells from honokiol mediated growth suppression. To determine the effect of honokiol on tumor growth in vivo, nude mice harboring HCT116 tumor xenografts in their flanks were administered the compound intraperitoneally every day for 21 days. Honokiol treatment significantly inhibited tumor xenograft growth. Western blot and immunohistochemistry analyses demonstrated significant inhibition in the expression of stem marker and Hippo signaling proteins in the honokioltreated xenograft tissues. Taken together, these data suggest that honokiol is a potent inhibitor of colon cancer that targets DCLK1 stem cells by inhibiting Hippo signaling pathway.