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Neurobiology Teaching Programme Strengthens Links with Indian Institution

Posted on 18 April 2012

Twenty-five students from all over India recently took part in a special teaching programme involving faculty from India, the USA and Ireland.  Trinity College Dublin’s Professor of Experimental Brain Research, Shane O’Mara taught at the Department of Science and Technology sponsored school in the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory which took place recently at the National Institute for Mental Health and Neuroscience, NIMHANS, in Bangalore.  The visit builds on other academic collaborations between Trinity College Dublin and India which aim to foster closer research links.

Students were chosen to take part in the school following a competition which brought together researchers from Bangalore, New Delhi, Bhopal, Calcutta and other locations throughout India.  During the programme students were taught by Professor O’Mara who focused on two topics: a) the functions of the hippocampal formation in learning, memory and amnesia, and b) the neural coding of memories by ensemble activity in the brain.  The school was organised jointly by Professor of Neurogenetics, Mani Ramaswami for Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, and Professor B.S. Shankaranarayana. 

Speaking about the event Professor O’Mara commented: “This was a very enjoyable and indeed unforgettable experience. The enthusiasm of the students present was absolutely wonderful. I look forward to bringing some of these students back to Ireland at some point”.  Another highlight of the school’s teaching programme was a special research lecture on Professor O’Mara’s work concerning the functions of the extended hippocampal formation in learning and memory, and how these may be affected at an individual level by brain aging.  Students were also provided with advanced training in the latest research in the field.

In addition to his teaching at NIMHANS, Professor O’Mara also visited Professor Shona Chatterji, at the National Centre for Biotechnological Sciences (NCBS) with whom he has established a Science Foundation Ireland-funded research programme.  A research student will visit Professor O’Mara’s laboratory for six months during the course of 2012 to avail of advanced training in the use of the TCIN 7T magnetic resonance imaging system. An exciting experimental programme has been devised and joint publications between Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience (TCIN) and NCBS are expected.

For further information on the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience see www.tcd.ie/Neuroscience