{"id":178641,"date":"2021-10-26T08:06:20","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T12:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=178641"},"modified":"2022-03-11T11:49:02","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T16:49:02","slug":"akiko-nishiyama-explains-the-many-strengths-of-a-degree-in-physiology-and-neurobiology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2021\/10\/akiko-nishiyama-explains-the-many-strengths-of-a-degree-in-physiology-and-neurobiology\/","title":{"rendered":"Akiko Nishiyama Explains the Many Strengths of a Degree in Physiology and Neurobiology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forty years ago,\u00a0neurologists\u00a0and neurobiologists\u00a0believed that the adult brain became less\u00a0plastic and less able to learn and retain new things.\u00a0They\u00a0had no idea that non-neuronal cells had anything to do with information processing in the brain, including learning and memory.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now,\u00a0after\u00a0decades of researching\u00a0and characterizing\u00a0a particular cell type, called glial cells, in the brain, Akiko Nishiyama, professor of physiology and neurobiology and the new department head,\u00a0can tell you\u00a0that\u00a0these cells are\u00a0essential to enabling humans to learn new tasks well into adulthood, thanks to a very dynamic regulation of the ability of oligodendrocyte precursor cells she had found to generate mature myelin-forming cells. She believes that these cells also play a yet unidentified critical role in the network of brain activity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We sat down with Nishiyama to talk about her goals for the department and current trends in the growing field of physiology and neurobiology.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is\u00a0the\u00a0physiology and neurobiology (PNB)\u00a0major\u00a0at UConn?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Physiology is the study of how different parts of the body work, and\u00a0neurobiology is the study of how the nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves) works, and this is what I study.\u00a0The\u00a0PNB\u00a0department\u00a0is where faculty and\u00a0students\u00a0study both disciplines.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the early- to mid-20th Century, we saw a tremendous expansion of the study of the nervous system, which led to the emergence of a multi-disciplinary field called neurobiology. The name of our department reflects this transition.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How did you get started in\u00a0neurobiology? Tell us about your research.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I started\u00a0my career in neuropathology\u00a0after finishing six years of medical training.\u00a0I was curious about how different cells in the nervous system support the function of neurons and how these support cells, known as glial cells, might malfunction in the process of neurodegenerative diseases. Halfway through the residency-doctoral program, I switched to a more basic doctoral program in molecular neurobiology, because I wanted to ask fundamental molecular and cellular questions about how different glial cells in the nervous system interact with neurons.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I sought my postdoctoral training in a lab studying the NG2 protein that seemed to be present in a yet-unidentified subset of glia,\u00a0and\u00a0I spent my career characterizing them.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thirty years later, these cells have become widely known to cellular neurobiologists and have made it into textbooks. My studies established that NG2 cells are precursor cells to oligodendrocytes that make myelin sheaths but are different from stem cells or other known glial cell types.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now we know these myelin structures are constantly being remodeled as we learn new skills as adults. And if you disrupt the process of the precursor cells, you disrupt the ability to acquire new tasks or learn new motor skills.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Akiko
Akiko Nishiyama (right), professor and head of physiology and neurobiology, advises a graduate student in her lab on August 17, 2021. (Bri Diaz\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why are these cells important?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We used to think that myelin was formed during the few years after birth and remained stable throughout life.\u00a0<\/span>What I found was that oligodendrocyte precursor cells persist in the adult brain and are implicated in some neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This\u00a0is an expanding area\u00a0of research in a new field called myelin plasticity.\u00a0Myelin repair is important for the functional repair not only in multiple sclerosis but also after trauma such as spinal cord injury. New genomic studies are emerging that have linked oligodendrocytes to neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases such as schizophrenia and Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are some of the things you can do with a degree in PNB?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We provide a wide-ranging set of skills, collectively, in the department<\/span>, because the possibilities grow every day.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of our undergraduate students pursue medical, dental, or other health care professions. For instance, we recently developed the\u00a0<\/span>Interoperative Neuromonitoring Program<\/span><\/a>\u00a0with a master\u2019s degree in Surgical Neurophysiology. This program trains specialized medical technologists who monitor the patient\u2019s muscle and brain activity and other neurophysiological\u00a0indicators\u00a0during surgery that may be important for surgeons and anesthesiologists to see in real-time.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some PNB majors go to graduate school to pursue a career in academic or industry research. In addition,\u00a0students with\u00a0an advanced degree in\u00a0physiology and\u00a0neurobiology can become teachers or science writers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless of whether they are pursuing research, we train our undergraduate students to develop a good habit of\u00a0identifying and thinking\u00a0through a problem. We have faculty with diverse expertise, and our students are introduced to a wide range of questions and approaches to answer them in the classroom as well as in faculty laboratories.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are some of your goals for the department over the next five years?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m\u00a0really lucky\u00a0to have a\u00a0strong and\u00a0friendly department. It’s a small\u00a0enough\u00a0department that I can get to know\u00a0each faculty and staff member\u00a0quite well.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I would like to\u00a0better connect\u00a0with our undergraduate majors early during their time at UConn. Currently, we see them for the first time when they take our gateway\u00a0<\/span>Human Physiology and Anatomy<\/span><\/i>\u00a0course in their sophomore year, and most of our faculty do not see them until they are juniors or seniors. I am interested in exposing freshmen and early sophomores to more experiential\u00a0types\u00a0of learning, monitoring their progress, and providing feedback and support where needed.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the strengths of our department is our faculty\u2019s research. Many of our faculty, especially the younger faculty, have expanding research programs, have been successful in securing large external grants, and are active in mentoring graduate and undergraduate students in their labs. I would like to provide an environment where the successful faculty can attain an even greater level of excellence and as a department attract a larger number of talented doctoral and postdoctoral trainees to UConn.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I would like to strengthen our graduate program to provide\u00a0more\u00a0multidisciplinary training for the next generation of physiologists and\u00a0neurobiologists\u00a0to gain quantitative and computer skills\u00a0as well.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new department head of physiology and neurobiology combines her background in medical training and scholarly research to lead students into the future of biomedical research. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":178642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2226,2390],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2214],"class_list":["post-178641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clas","category-physiology-neurobiology"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-30 12:01:12","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/140"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178641"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178650,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178641\/revisions\/178650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/178642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178641"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=178641"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=178641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}