Presidential Lectures are a series of free public colloquia spotlighting groundbreaking research across four themes: neuroscience and autism science, physics, biology, and mathematics and computer science. These curated, high-level scientific talks feature leading scientists and mathematicians and are designed to foster discussion and drive discovery within the New York City research community. We invite those interested in these topics to join us for this weekly lecture series.
In this lecture, Dr. Mustafa Sahin will present the rationale for investigating Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) as a way to understand the cellular and circuitry alterations underlying autism spectrum disorder. Using a combination of cell culture, mouse behavior and human EEG and MRI experiments, Sahin and colleagues have demonstrated abnormalities in neuronal connectivity and neuron- glia interactions in TSC. Inhibitors of mTOR proteins are effective in mouse models of TSC and are being tested in clinical trials now. Insights from TSC can also provide insights for related neurodevelopmental disorders in which similar cellular and circuit abnormalities can be detected.