Paul Lombroso, MD, Professor Emeritus and Director of the Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, will be giving a talk on "Taking STEPS to Improve Cognition."

ABSTRACT

The Lombroso laboratory focuses on mammalian learning and how these processes are disrupted in various neuropsychiatric disorders. Central to this investigation is a brain-specific protein tyrosine phosphatase called STEP and its role in regulating intracellular signaling. STEP protein levels are increased in several neuropsychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and fragile X syndrome. Earlier work showed that STEP regulates ERK1/2 and Fyn by dephosphorylating and inactivating them. STEP also regulates the cell surface expression of AMPA and NMDA glutamate receptors and leads to their endocytosis. Signals that lead to STEP inactivation potentiate learning, whereas signals that lead to STEP activation oppose the development of synaptic plasticity. We use biochemical, molecular, immunocytochemical, and behavioral techniques in animal models to address the role that STEP normally plays in regulating aspects of learning and the role STEP plays in cognitive disorders.