MedNeuros on the Loose: PhD Retreat 2016

Next week the second MedNeuro PhD retreat will take place. Let's have a look at the report from last year.

It all began when an email was sent inviting students to help in the organization of the first ever MedNeuro PhD retreat.
Having formed a team of organizers, several meetings were held together with the representative of the MedNeuro office. The retreat was organized by MedNeuro PhD students with the aim of reinforcing the communication and interaction among the PhD students amidst the exchange of scientific ideas.
The enthusiastic response of students led to a total of 33 registered participants. On D-day, our bus took off at 4 pm en route to Schloss Wahlsdorf, 2 hours south of Berlin. In the bus, each participant received the booklet for the retreat which contained the program schedule, as well as some instructions.
Our graduate school has remained very international over the years, with a diversity of nationalities from across the globe represented. Most students work in labs scattered across Berlin on the Charité campuses, with the majority on campus Mitte. A quick survey showed that most participants are in the middle of their PhDs, although a few students are just beginning and very few almost finishing.

Hitting the Town In Wahlsdorf
When we arrived at Schloss Wahlsdorf, we had a grill party for supper – lots of meat with servings of mixed greens and bread. The quietness of the location with its few inhabitants was a great advantage for socializing and brainstorming. The cool breeze of the night with its accompanying stars in the sky encouraged us to stay outside longer, socializing over bottles of beer and wine. This facilitated the interaction among participants, which was one of the main reasons for organizing the retreat.
The speed dating session that night permitted practically all participants to interact with the others. This already closed the gap between participants making each one feel comfortable and at home. Of course, on a day like this, after embarking on such a long journey, while some preferred to go early to bed, others waited a little while to enjoy the night with the stars and cool breeze. It was full of smiles, laughter and giggling.

From the Bench...
This was the day assigned to the talks and poster sessions for the exchange of scientific knowledge. The organizers ensured that each talk had 5 minutes of discussion and each poster 3 minutes. It was very inspiring to see how the students listened attentively and participated actively in the discussions that arose after each talk. Furthermore, the poster and talk sessions unraveled the dynamism of neuroscience topics in the PhD program, ranging from electrophysiology to clinical studies. To relax our minds after the scientific program, we had a game session combining mime, puzzles, a quiz and making music from some selected scientific words.

... to the Boardroom
We had an interactive table discussion about careers with Rob Thompson, an entrepreneur and well-renowned trainer. His approach was quite different from what most of us are used to. Participants raised questions or topics which were of interest to them and we dealt with them accordingly. We learnt some tips for getting the job we want and building your network. We also learnt how to deal with difficult colleagues and work in a team. The talk was exciting and had a mock job interview with some participants acting as recruiters.
Around 5 pm we prepared to head back to Berlin bringing our 2-day retreat to a successful end.
This was really a retreat to remember and we look forward to making it an annual event. Just in case you missed it, watch out for the next PhD retreat.

The organizing team is grateful to all for your support and enthusiasm shown before and during the retreat. We thank the team (Valérie, Mariana, Priscilla, Fenia, Laura and Veronika) and the MedNeuro office for the financial support for making this retreat see the light of the day, and of course the wonderful participants without whom the retreat would not have been successful.

by Priscilla Koduah, PhD Student AG Paul
this article originally appeared December 2016 in Vol. 09 Issue 4: From Cradle to Grave

Brain-gnacy: How Giving Birth Changes Your Brain

If I asked you for the most apparent change in a pregnant woman, you would probably not answer ‘the brain’. Looking at all the physical changes in a woman’s body during pregnancy, it is understandable that the brain seems to be a supporting rather than a main actor in the 9 month-long play called pregnancy. Here is why – surprise – the brain is important for pregnancy and child birth.

The pregnant brain needs to coordinate physiological changes that on the one hand allow the baby to grow and on the other hand prepare the mother for the challenges of giving birth and motherhood. Female sex steroid hormones, like estrogens and progesterone are elevated during pregnancy and can act on the brain to induce changes that favor pregnancy, like increased appetite, a reduced stress response or the inhibition and accumulation of neuropeptides until they are needed [1].

Adapted from http://bit.ly/2dlW1si

Hungry All the Time? 

Growing new life inside one’s body means that a lot more energy is needed – to supply the fetus with nutrients and to build up energy reserves that can be used in the period of lactation after the child is born. Appetite is usually regulated so that energy intake is in balance with energy expenditure [2]. To allow for increased food intake, changes in the brain that suppress the sensation of satiety take place. While satiety is normally signaled by the hormone leptin, the pregnant brain develops a central resistance to leptin, which ultimately increases appetite and food intake [2]. So, in a sense, your brain acts like your grandma, stuffing you with food for the bad times!

 

YOUR BRAIN MAKES YOU HUNGRY

Stressless Superwomen

Since exposure of the fetus to high levels of stress hormones increases the risk for cardiovascular, metabolic and psychiatric diseases in later life, it is necessary to minimize the exposure of the fetus to stress [3]. This means that either everyone has to tip-toe around pregnant women, or we need to change the mother-to-be’s physiological response to stress. If only it were possible to reduce the levels of circulating stress hormones! Wait – that is exactly what’s happening. In pregnancy, changes in the maternal hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis occur which render mommy hyporesponsive to stressors. This process involves changes in several HPA components, but also higher brain regions and is reflected by reduced secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone following stress [3].

PREGNANCY MAKES YOU (ALMOST) IMMUNE TO STRESS

Just On Time!

A normal pregnancy is estimated to last around 268 days, and more often than not, the due date is not too far off from what the gynecologist predicted. To prevent premature birth, the brain has to coordinate the availability and action of labor-inducing factors. For example, the neuropeptide oxytocin stimulates contractions of the uterus during birth. Throughout pregnancy, the hormonal environment changes in a way that keeps oxytocin-secreting neurons quiescent, while oxytocin continues to accumulate and its receptor expression increases [1]. This accumulation of oxytocin is believed to facilitate synchronized firing of neurons that then secrete pulses of oxytocin during birth. In concert, these stimulate contractions of the uterus and ultimately facilitate childbirth [1].

How to Be a Mommy

Let the brain do the job. Many mothers-to-be might have wondered at some point if they are capable of being a mom. Maternal love seems to be somewhat natural and unconditional everywhere in the world. You might have guessed it already, it is indeed the usual suspect who pulls the strings for maternal love: your brain.

After birth, maternal behavior needs to be initiated to ensure survival of the newborn. The medial preoptic area (mPOA), which has some control over the reward circuitry, has a central role in the regulation of maternal behavior. Priming of the mPOA by the changed endocrine environment during pregnancy is necessary for the fast initiation of maternal behavior right after childbirth [3]. During delivery, oxytocin is released and acts on receptors in the mPOA and other brain regions – and maternal behavior is induced [3].

Your Kid Lives On In You 

During pregnancy, cells from the fetus can cross the placenta and remain in the mother’s body – sometimes for decades. These cells are mainly found in the bloodstream during and right after pregnancy, but can be found anywhere in the body as well. Some studies have even shown a migration of fetal cells to the maternal brain [4]. Different studies found positive or negative effects on maternal health, ranging from increased risk for autoimmune disease [5] to improved wound healing [6].

In a nutshell, your brain needs to adapt during pregnancy and changes a lot of processes in the body. Being the perfect host, the brain does everything in its powers to make pregnancy and being a mother possible.

[1] http://bit.ly/2deNVll

[2] http://bit.ly/2d9Cuju

[3] http://go.nature.com/2d9Du7q

[4] http://bit.ly/2e0f7sg

[5] http://bit.ly/2dVr4hV

[6] http://bit.ly/2dgM4fx

by Juliane Schiweck, PhD Student AG Eickholt

this article appeared December 2016 in CNS Volume 9, Issue 4, From Cradle to Grave in the Brain

Little Einsteins-In-The-Making: Brain Development in Newborns

The fertility rate in Germany has risen to a 33-year high after years of decline in the rate of births. How will life be for this new generation? How will they percieve the world ? Time to have a look at a newborn's brain!

The emergence of new life, the creation of a little human being, is one of the most fascinating events in this world. Of all organs, the development of the brain is one of the first to start and one of the last to end (although it never really ends). The first structure, the neural tube, forms within the first weeks after conception. The first movements of the fetus can be detected by ultrasound after only 7 weeks and are probably because the first neurons and synapses have already developed in the spinal cord. Although a very basic functional brain is present at birth, many aspects of brain development are nowhere near complete yet.

The Birth of Consciousness
Future parents often wonder how much of the outside world their fetus experiences consciously. For example, is it beneficial to play piano music or speak to the little one in the uterus? Although fetuses can open their eyes after some months, they are mainly asleep and can hardly be woken up. Consciousness is defined as awareness of the body, the self and the outside, and is linked to the condition of being awake. Consequently, the process of birth initiates the development of consciousness by waking the fetus. When a newborn is touched by another person, it reacts differently compared to when it touches itself, indicating it has awareness of its own body.

Sleeping newborn infant with an EEG net.
Fifer, William P., et al. "Newborn infants learn during sleep."  
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107.22 (2010)

Furthermore, the awareness of smell allows the newborn to pursue the mother's milk. In addition, the ability to discriminate between the mother's voice and that of a stranger develops early on. The effort to reach the mother's breast right after birth also indicates purposeful behavior. Together with other signs such as the sense of pain, language, and short-term memory, newborns fulfil the criteria of basic consciousness and are perfectly equipped to explore the new world [1].

Explosion of Synapses and Glial Cells
Interestingly, the brain of an infant at birth already contains almost the same number of neurons as an adult brain. Now they only have to form their various connections to form mature neuronal circuits. Therefore, an extremely high number of synapses is built during the first months in a process called synaptogenesis, which requires the selection and elimination of synapses. This process, known as pruning, is highly delicate and, therefore, it is not surprising that early life stress can result in the development of behavioral dysfunctions and mental disorders in adulthood [2].

A NEWBORN'S BRAIN 

DEPENDS ON OUTSIDE STIMULI

 

In the past, it was believed that the selection is mainly dependent on the activity of neuronal connections, while the help of glial cells is only required for removing synapses by phagocytosis. However, more recent evidence supports the important role of glial cells in all stages of pruning. A stepwise removal of low-activity synaptic contacts is achieved by a fine-tuned interplay between neurons, astrocytes, microglia and oligodendrocytes that communicate with each other by secreting molecules [3]. For example, during postnatal development, neurons express the chemokine Cc3cl1 (fractalkine) whose receptor is expressed by microglia. As reported first by Paoliceli et al., the lack of this chemokine leads to fewer microglia and delayed synaptic pruning [4].

Sleep, Baby, Sleep…
When one considers the numerous events taking place in the newborn brain – and I've only mentioned a few here – it is not surprising that sleep is absolutely essential for flawless neuronal development. All this learning and processing of environmental stimuli, with their accompanying reorganization of nascent neuronal circuits sounds extremely exhausting for such a fragile organism. Intuitively, one would thus think that the phase of sleep linked to physical rest would be most important for newborns. But quite the contrary. It's actually active sleep, also referred to as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which seems crucial for postnatal brain development. Newborns spend about 50% of their sleep in REM (compared to 20% in adults). Indeed, it has been shown that twitching during REM sleep leads to increased activity of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum of rat neonates, indicating that active sleep is important for sensorimotor development [5].

Impact on Our Future Minds
Since the development of a newborn's brain is highly dependent on environmental stimuli, these bewitching creatures should be protected from any harmful influences – beginning already at pregnancy. Everything we experience in our first years after birth will somehow shape our mind for the rest of our lives. This thought is amazing and terrifying at the same time because at that stage these poor little creatures are dependent on how responsible the outside world is …

[1] Langercrantz and Changeaux, Semin Perinatol, 2010
[2] Bock et al., Front Neurosc, 2014
[3] Terni et al., Brain Res Bull, 2016
[4] Paoliceli et al., Science, 2011
[5] Sokoloff et al., Dev Neurobiol, 2014

by Eileen Schormann, PhD Student, AG Krüger

This article was voted "best contribution of the December 2016 issue"

Conference Report: World Health Summit

Hold once a year, the World Health Summit (WHS) has grown into the world’s most prominent forum for addressing global health issues. It takes place in Berlin and brings together key leaders from academia, politics, civil society, and the private sector to address the most pressing health-related challenges on the planet. Until July 31, 2017 students can register for 69 EUR. Some of our students attended the WHS last year.

By chance I was even wearing the WHS colours.

During the eighth World Health Summit (WHS) 2016, a lot of big and ambitious topics were discussed: medical care for refugees, access to medicine, epidemics such as Ebola or Zika, non-communicable diseases such as stroke, antimicrobial resistance (which constitutes one of today's major health challenges), translational research, technological innovations, data management and empowerment of women.

The WHS brought together about 1800 researchers, physicians, government officials, representatives from industry, non-governmental organizations, and healthcare systems from more than 90 countries to discuss the most pressing issues facing every facet of healthcare and medicine in the upcoming decade and beyond. Prominent participants were Herrmann Gröhe, the German minister of health, Emanuelle Charpentier from the Max Plank Institute for Infectious Diseases and Pascale Ehrenfreund from the German Aerospace Center ... just to do some name dropping.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE 

SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE

Rather than a series of snooze-inducing presentations, the three days were full of open dialogues and discussion rounds in small rooms with a handful of appointed speakers who gave short presentations, followed by group discussions with plenty of opportunities to ask questions. The atmosphere was very inspiring and everyone from high-level policy makers to students held discussions together as equals.

One highlight of the conference was the startup track pitch competition. This included amazing contributions such as Midge Medical, who invented a new blood testing device for malaria, or the startup Glasschair, who developed a wheelchair that can be navigated by eye movements, or COLDPLASMATECH, a startup that produces an amazing new solution to help wounds heal faster.

Attending this conference was a great opportunity to break beyond my comfort zone, meet interesting people from the health sector and of course do some networking (I recommend printing business cards if you want to go). But above all, it was a great conference to get updated on global health issues, and it made me want to focus even more on the translational aspect of science.

The conference ended with a call to action in five key central areas of global health: 

1) Empowerment of Women and Girls

2) Right to Health of Refugees and Migrants, 

3) Resilience and Global Health Security, 

4) Sustainable solutions against antimicrobial resistance, 

5) Investment in Research, Development and Health Innovation. 

It's all tall order, but nonetheless a good start!

by Claudia Willmes, PhD Alumni AG Eickholt/AG Schmitz

this article originally appeared  2016 in CNS Volume 9, Issue 4, From Cradle to Grave in the Brain