An official website of the United States governmentThe Sensory Neurons of Touch: From Function to Dysfunction
Speaker: David Ginty, Ph.D.
Edward R. and Anne G. Lefler Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Date: March 7, 2016 - 10:00 a.m. ET
Lipsett Amphitheater at the NIH Clinical Research Center (Building 10)
Event Description
David Ginty, Ph.D., is the Edward R. and Anne G. Lefler Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
The somatosensory system relays peripheral sensations from the skin to the brain, providing information about the state of our body and its environment and helping us to recognize objects, discriminate textures, generate sensory-motor feedback, and exchange social cues. Disease states can affect this system, but more research is needed to understand the process.
Dr. Ginty’s work is focused on the development, organization, and function of neurons that stimulate the skin and mediate our sense of touch and pain perception. Dr. Ginty’s lecture will provide insight from novel tools and techniques developed by him and his team that explore the somatosensory system and the way specific neurons inform our understanding of certain sensations.