2024 Lounsbery Lecture- Neuron-glial Interactions in Health and Disease: From Cognition to Cancer

Michelle Monje, 2023 Richard Lounsbery Award recipient, presented the 2024 Lounsbery Lecture on “Neuron-glial Interactions in Health and Disease: From Cognition to Cancer” at Vassar College on October 24.
Neuronal activity is a critical regulator of brain development and plasticity. Activity-dependent proliferation of healthy glial progenitors, the consequent generation of new oligodendrocytes and adaptive changes in myelin tune neural circuit function and contribute to healthy cognition, while disruption of myelin plasticity contributes to cognitive impairment in a range of disease states. Neuronal activity similarly promotes the proliferation of malignant glioma cells, underscoring the extent to which mechanisms of neurodevelopment and plasticity are subverted by malignant gliomas, and the importance of understanding the neuroscience of cancer.