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SUMMARY:Imprinted genes\, brain and behaviour - Professor Lawrence Wilkins
 on\, Behavioural Neuroscience\, School of Psychology\, Cardiff University\
 , Wales
DTSTART:20120511T153000Z
DTEND:20120511T170000Z
UID:TALK37236@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Louise White
DESCRIPTION:Biography\n\nFrom 1989 to 1996 I worked in Cambridge with Trev
 or Robbins and Barry Everitt in Experimental Psychology. In 1996 I moved t
 o the Babraham Institute where I formed a group focusing on the field of b
 ehavioural genetics. It was at Babraham that I became interested in epigen
 etic effects (mediated by DNA methylation and/or chemical tagging of histo
 ne proteins that bind DNA) on behaviour\, especially in terms of imprinted
  genes which are expressed in a parent-of-origin manner as a result of dev
 elopmentally determined epigenetic marks that lead to silencing of either 
 the maternal or paternal allele. In 2006 I moved to Cardiff to take up a j
 oint position in the Schools of Medicine and Psychology where currently I 
 head up the Behavioural Genetics Group within the MRC Centre for Neuropsyc
 hiatric Genetics and Genomics.\n\nAbstract\n\nAt conception we receive a c
 opy (allele) of each autosomal gene from mum and dad. This ‘diploid’ a
 rrangement is one of the many benefits of sexual reproduction as it provid
 es a spare in the event of abnormalities - hence\, for the large majority 
 of genes in the mammalian genome expression occurs from both alleles. Impr
 inted genes break the rules and are expressed in a ‘parent-of-origin’ 
 manner\, meaning that\, for some imprinted genes only (or mainly) the mate
 rnal allele is expressed\, for others only (or mainly) the paternal allele
 .  Imprinted genes were discovered relatively recently but already it appe
 ars they play key roles in several aspects of mammalian physiology\, inclu
 ding brain function and behaviour. In my talk I will discuss progress in o
 ur understanding of what imprinted genes might be doing in the brain\, ref
 erring to our own work on occasion. I will also\, if there is time\, touch
  on the evolutionary controversies that the existence of imprinted genes s
 eems to attract.     \n\n
LOCATION:Ground Floor Lecture Theatre\, Department of Experimental Psychol
 ogy
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