DemaNDs Seminar - 10 November 2025 | Centre for Transformative Neuroscience

DemaNDs Seminar - Monday 10 November 2025 - Dan Jobson

The next DemaNDs Seminar will be on Monday 10 November 2025. Dan Jobson (Newcastle University) will present ‘High vulnerability of medial prefrontal pyramidal neurons in post-stroke, vascular and ageing-related dementias’ (abstract below).

Refreshments will be available in Scafell room (1.05, 1st Floor, Biomedical Research Building, CAV) from 12.00 and the seminar will commence at 12.30pm in the Great Gable meeting room (1.01). Microsoft Teams details are below, though we encourage everyone who can to join in person.

Abstract: Neuroimaging studies in dementia patients have revealed large-scale networks involving the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to consistently feature connectivity aberrations associated with cognitive decline. Tract tracing has further suggested the mPFC is interconnected with several subcortical structures and mediates many important cognitive functions including executive control, behavioural inhibition and memory. However, it remains unclear whether the dorsal aspects of the mPFC is differentially vulnerable in dementia relative to other key prefrontal cortical areas. We found using three-dimensional stereology and immunohistochemical methods, that pyramidal neuron densities were markedly affected in both cortical layers III and V by ~45% in several dementia subtypes compared to controls. Whereas pyramidal cell volumes were lower by ~37% in all assessed disorder groups. These specific changes were consistently reflected by COX1 and COX4-positive neuronal loss in both cortical layers across all dementias. Our clinicopathological study has suggested a high vulnerability for mPFC pyramidal neurons across several dementia subtypes, which displayed the most severe degrees of atrophy comparative to adjacent prefrontal subregions. We believe these changes are driven by a vascular aetiology that instigates metabolic dysfunction within mPFC pyramidal neurons with implications for targeted therapeutic strategies.