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SUMMARY:The miswired brain – from altered neurodevelopment to psychopath
 ology - Dr Kevin J. Mitchell\,  Institutes of Genetics and Neuroscience\, 
 Trinity College Dublin
DTSTART:20131122T163000Z
DTEND:20131122T180000Z
UID:TALK47348@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Louise White
DESCRIPTION:It has long been postulated that many psychiatric conditions h
 ave their origins in disturbed neural development. This view is strongly s
 upported by recent discoveries of mutations causing psychiatric illness\, 
 many of which arise in neurodevelopmental genes. Psychiatric disorders\, s
 uch as schizophrenia and autism can no longer be viewed as monolithic cate
 gories\; instead\, they represent umbrella terms that refer to possible ou
 tcomes due to mutation in any one of probably hundreds of different genes\
 , which are individually rare\, but collectively common. A major unanswere
 d question is how disturbances in neurodevelopmental processes such as neu
 ronal migration\, axon guidance and specification of synaptic connectivity
  can result in the pathophysiological states that underlie psychiatric sym
 ptoms. We are investigating these questions in several lines of mutant mic
 e\, which display symptoms relevant to psychiatric disease. \n\nKevin Mitc
 hell is an Associate Professor in the Smurfit Institute of Genetics in Tri
 nity College Dublin and a member of the Trinity College Institute of Neuro
 science.  His \ninterests are in understanding the genetic program specify
 ing the wiring of the brain and its relevance to variation in human facult
 ies\, especially to psychiatric and neurological disease.  He is particula
 rly interested in schizophrenia\, autism and synaesthesia.\n\nHe is a grad
 uate of the Genetics Department\, Trinity College Dublin (B.A.\, Mod. 1991
 ) and received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley (19
 97)\, where he studied nervous system development with Prof. Corey Goodman
 .  He did postdoctoral research with Prof. Marc Tessier-Lavigne at Stanfor
 d University\, using molecular genetics to study neural development in the
  mouse.  Since 2002 he has been on the faculty at Trinity College Dublin a
 s a Science Foundation Ireland Investigator.  He was an EMBO Young Investi
 gator and was elected to Fellowship of Trinity College in 2009. \n\n\n\n
LOCATION:Ground Floor Lecture Theatre\, Department of Psychology
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