Jason MacLean
Associate Professor
Department of Neurobiology
The University of Chicago
947 E. 58th St., MC0926
Chicago, IL 60637
Email: jmaclean@bsd.uchicago.edu
Phone: (773) 834-7650
Office: SBRI J111 (MC 0926)
Research Summary
Optical probing and imaging of neuronal microcircuits.
Research Description
Neurons do not work in isolation but rather operate together, within local interconnected circuits. Our lab uses the latest technology in microscopy to allow us to examine the long standing questions of how information is encoded and stored in the neocortex, at the level of the functional neuronal circuit. Other techniques are limited to the examination of either large brain regions, missing the resolution needed to analyze the underlying mechanisms, or to single neurons, missing the activity of the circuit in which the neurons are embedded. Experiments at the circuit level are essential to answering these questions because studies in which single or even a few cells are monitored fundamentally miss the emergent properties of these circuits.
Select Publications
Gururangan, S. S., Sadovsky, A. J., & MacLean, J. N. (2014). Analysis of Graph Invariants in Functional Neocortical Circuitry Reveals Generalized Features Common to Three Areas of Sensory Cortex. PLoS computational biology, 10(7), e1003710.
Runfeldt, M. J., Sadovsky, A. J., & MacLean, J. N. (2014). Acetylcholine Functionally Reorganizes Neocortical Microcircuits. Journal of neurophysiology, jn-00071.
Sadovsky, A. J., and MacLean, J. N. (2014). Mouse Visual Neocortex Supports Multiple Stereotyped Patterns of Microcircuit Activity. The Journal of Neuroscience, 34(23), 7769-7777.
Kruskal PB, Li L, and MacLean JN. (2013) Circuit reactivation dynamically regulates synaptic plasticity in neocortex. Nat Commun. 4:2574.
Sadovsky AJ, Kruskal PB, Kimmel JM, Ostmeyer J, Neubauer FB, and MacLean JN. (2011) Heuristically optimal path scanning for high-speed multiphoton circuit imaging. J Neurophysiol. 106:1591-1598.
Hoffman KL, Battaglia FP, Harris K, MacLean JN, Marshall L, Mehta MR. (2007) The upshot of up states in the neocortex: from slow oscillations to memory formation. J Neurosci., 27: 11838-41
MacLean, J. N., Watson, B. O., Aaron, G. B., and Yuste, R. (2005) Internal dynamics determine the cortical response to thalamic stimulation. Neuron. 48: 811-823
Yuste R., MacLean, J.N., Smith, J. and Lanser, A. (2005). Perspective/Opinion: Can CPGs help us understand cortical function? Nature Rev Neurosci., 6: 477-83
MacLean, J.N., Zhang, Y., Johnson, B.J. and Harris-Warrick, R.M. (2003) Activity-Independent Homeostasis in Rhythmically Active Neurons. Neuron 37: 109-120.
