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SUMMARY:G L Brown prize lecture: &quot\;And the beat goes on. The cardiac 
 conduction system: the wiring of the heart&quot\; - Mark Boyett\, Universi
 ty of Manchester
DTSTART:20090305T160000Z
DTEND:20090305T170000Z
UID:TALK16630@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Jim Blundell
DESCRIPTION:100 to 200 years ago\, the cardiac conduction system was disco
 vered by Sir Arthur Keith\, Sunao Tawara\, Wilhelm His and Jan Purkinje. T
 he system\, comprising the sinoatrial node\, the atrioventricular node and
  the His-Purkinje system\, coordinates the heart beat: it sets and adjusts
  the heart rate and it makes sure that all of the different parts of the h
 eart contract at the right time during the cardiac cycle in order for the 
 heart to act as an efficient pump. To achieve this\, the system has a comp
 licated anatomy (equivalent to the wiring layout of your  house) and a tai
 lor-made system of electrical (i.e. action potential) signalling determine
 d by a unique pattern of expression of ~100 ion channel and connexin subun
 its. \n\nUsing diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging\, histology\, i
 mmunolabelling of marker proteins and image processing\, we are building d
 etailed 3D anatomical models of the system. We are using quantitative PCR\
 , in situ hybridisation\, Western blot and immunohistochemistry to map out
  the heterogeneous distribution of ion channels and connexins. Based on th
 e ion channel expression as well as voltage clamp data\, we are building a
  family of biophysically-detailed action potential models for the differen
 t parts of the system.\n\nFinally\, we combine the anatomical and action p
 otential models to simulate the normal and abnormal functioning of the sys
 tem. In the talk\, I will describe this work as well as why the cardiac co
 nduction system changes during postnatal development and athletic training
 \, why it malfunctions as we get older and during heart failure and atrial
  fibrillation\, and why the heart rate of the mouse is 10? faster than tha
 t of the human.
LOCATION:Hodgkin Huxley Seminar Room\, Physiology Building\, Downing Site
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