 |
|
|
Carla Shatz
Academic Appointments
Appointment
Organization
Professor
Professor
Member
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
|
|
|
Honors & Awards
Title
Organization
Date(s)
Elected Fellow
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
1992
Elected Member
European Academy of Sciences and Arts
1992
President
Society for Neuroscience
1994
Elected Member
National Academy of Sciences
1995
Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievement in Health and Education
Charles A. Dana Foundation
1995
Administrative Appointments
Title
Organization
Start Year
End Year
Professional Education
Degree
Awarding Institution
Field of Study
Year of Graduation
Postdoctoral
Harvard Medical School
Neurobiology
1978
Ph.D.
Harvard University
Neurobiology
1976
M.Phil
University College London
Physiology
1971
B.A.
Radcliffe College, Cambridge, MA
Chemistry
1969
Research Interests
By studying the visual system of mammals, the Shatz Lab discovered that adult wiring emerges from dynamic interactions between neurons involving neural function and synaptic plasticity. Even before birth and long before vision, the eye spontaneously generates and sends coordinated patterns of neural activity to the brain. Blocking this activity in utero, or preventing vision after birth, disrupts normal tuning up of circuits and brain wiring. In turn, neural activity regulates the expression of genes involved in the process of circuit tuning. To discover cell and molecular underpinnings of circuit tuning, her lab has conducted functional screens for genes regulated by neural activity. Among these genes is the MHC (major histocompatibility) Class I family. This finding was very surprising because these genes- HLA genes in humans- are involved in cellular immunity and were previously not thought to be expressed by neurons at all! The Shatz Lab showed that other components of a signaling system for Class I MHC are also present in neurons, including a novel receptor, PirB. By studying and/or generating knockout mice, the lab is exploring a role for these molecules in synaptic plasticity, learning, memory and neurological disorders. The lab employs a variety of approaches in these studies, ranging from molecular biology to slice electrophysiology to in vivo imaging to behavior. Research has relevance not only for understanding brain wiring and developmental disorders such as Autism and Schizphrenia, but also for understanding how the nervous and immune systems interact.
Publications
-
Goddard CA,
Butts DA, Shatz CJ
"Regulation of CNS synapses by neuronal MHC class I."
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
2007;
104:
16:
6828-33
More »
-
Butts DA,
Kanold PO, Shatz CJ
"A burst-based "Hebbian" learning rule at retinogeniculate synapses links retinal waves to activity-dependent refinement."
PLoS Biol
2007;
5:
3:
e61
More »
-
Kanold PO,
Shatz CJ
"Subplate neurons regulate maturation of cortical inhibition and outcome of ocular dominance plasticity."
Neuron
2006;
51:
5:
627-38
More »
-
Syken J,
Grandpre T, Kanold PO, Shatz CJ
"PirB restricts ocular-dominance plasticity in visual cortex."
Science
2006;
313:
5794:
1795-800
More »
-
Majdan M,
Shatz CJ
"Effects of visual experience on activity-dependent gene regulation in cortex."
Nat Neurosci
2006;
9:
5:
650-9
More »
