Matthew LarkumCharité - Universitätsmedizin BerlinNeuroscience Research Center (NWFZ)
Charitéplatz 1 | D-10117 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30 450-539117E-mail: matthew.larkum@gmail.comWebsite: larkum.hu-berlin.deBorn in 1967, married with 2 children.

Curriculum vitaesince 2011
Professor “Neuronal Plasticity” (W3), Department of Biology,Humboldt University of Berlin2004 – 2011 SNSF Professor, Institute of Physiology, University of Bern1997 – 2003 Postdoctoral fellow (Advisor: Bert Sakmann), Max Planck Institute for MedicalResearch, Heidelberg1992 – 1996 PhD (supervisor: Hans-Rudolf Lüscher), Institute of Physiology, University of Bern1991First class honours in Physiology (supervisor: Max Bennett), University of Sydney1987 – 1990 Bachelor of Science, University of SydneyShort biographyI graduated from Sydney University with a thirst for solving the brain and was lucky to be a post-doc inthe laboratory of Nobel prize-winner Bert Sakmann for 6 years. It was here that I cut my teeth on hardcore electrophysiological and imaging techniques for understanding the computational properties ofcortical neurons. I continued this focus upon starting up my own laboratory in Switzerland and morerecently in Berlin where the laboratory has grown to accommodate a more comprehensiveinvestigation of the contribution of single-cell computation to the process of cognition, learning andmemory. The aims of the lab are based on a unifying hypothesis that the incredible cognitive power ofthe cortex derives from an associative mechanism built in at the cellular level such that thearchitecture of the cortex is tightly coupled with the computational capabilities of single cells. Inessence, this hypothesis places new importance on the computational power of neurons that hasramifications for our understanding of cognition and for neurodegenerative diseases that disturbneuronal properties.
Research fieldsOur group focuses on the processing of feedforward and feedback information in the cortex, andparticularly, on the contribution of active dendritic properties to the computational power of neocorticalpyramidal neurons. Recent topics include:n Dendritic spikes in the tuft and basal dendrites of neocortical pyramidal neuronsn Inhibitory control of cortical microcircuitsn Memory consolidation with active dendritic mechanismsn Cellular basis for interhemispheric inhibition in the cerebral cortexn Effect of fetal alcohol syndrome on dendritic processingn Effects of common anesthetics on single-cell computation in the cortexn Development of state-of-the-art optical approaches for studying cortical dendritic activity

Activities in the scientific community, honors, awards2010200720062004200320021999 – 20011997 – 19981992 – 1995Robert Bing Prize, Swiss Academy of Medical SciencesPfizer Prize for the best neuroscience paper published by a Swiss groupTheodor Kocher PrizeProfessorship, Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
Nikon Research Fellowship, Woods Hole Research LaboratoriesWoods Hole Research FellowshipMax Planck Society ScholarshipAlexander von Humboldt ScholarshipAustralian Postgraduate Research AwardSelected publications	  Palmer LM, Shai AS, Reeve JE, Anderson HL, Paulsen O, Larkum ME (2014) NMDA spikes enhanceaction potential generation during sensory input. Nature Neuroscience 17: 383-390.	  

Larkum ME. A cellular mechanism for cortical associations: an organizing principle for the cerebralcortex. Trends in Neurosciences. 2013 36: 141-151.	  

Larkum ME. The yin and yang of cortical layer 1. Nature Neuroscience. 2013; 16, 114-15.	  	  Palmer LM, Schulz JM, Murphy SC, Ledergerber D, Murayama M, Larkum ME. The cellular basis ofGABAB-mediated interhemispheric inhibition. Science. 2012; 335, 989-93.
Murayama, M, Perez-Garci E, Nevian T, Bock T, Senn W, Larkum ME. Dendritic encoding ofsensory stimuli controlled by deep cortical interneurons. Nature. 2009; 457, 1137-41.	  

Murayama M, Larkum ME. In vivo dendritic calcium imaging with a fiberoptic periscope system.
Nature Protocols. 2009; 4, 1551-9.	  

Murayama M, Larkum ME. Enhanced dendritic activity in awake rats. PNAS. 2009; 106, 20482-6.
Larkum ME, Nevian T, Sandler M, Polsky A, Schiller J. Synaptic integration in tuft dendrites of layer5 pyramidal neurons: a new unifying principle. Science. 2009; 325, 756-60.
Larkum, M.E. & Nevian, T. (2008) Synaptic clustering by dendritic signaling mechanisms. CurrentOpinion in Neurobiology. 18: 1-11.
Nevian, T.*, Larkum, M.E.*, Polsky, A., Schiller, J. (2007) Properties of basal dendrites of layer 5pyramidal neurons: a direct patch-clamp recording study. Nature Neuroscience, 10: 206-214. * equalcontributionPerez-Garci E, Gassmann M, Bettler B, Larkum ME. The GABAB1b isoform mediates longlasting inhibition of dendritic Ca2+ spikes in layer 5 somatosensory pyramidal neurons. Neuron. 2006;50, 603-16.
Larkum, M.E., Senn, W, and Lüscher, H.-R. (2004). Top-down dendritic input increases the gain oflayer 5 pyramidal neurons. Cerebral Cortex, 10: 1059-70.
Larkum, M.E., Kaiser, K.M.M., Sakmann, B. (1999b) Calcium electrogenesis in distal apical dendritesof layer 5 pyramidal cells at a critical frequency of back-propagating action potentials. PNAS. 96:14600-14604.
Larkum ME, Zhu JJ, Sakmann B. (1999) A new mechanism for coupling inputs arriving at differentcortical layers. Nature. 398, 338-41.