Zoltan Molnar

Congratulations to Florina Szabó who defended her DPhil. Thanks to the examiners Prof Nicoletta Kessaris (UCL) and Prof Simon Butt (@interneuron.bsky.social); to Anatomical Society and to Dr Anna Hoerder-Suabedissen for co-supervising. One chapter is already published: doi.org/10.1111/joa....

We say thanks to @stjohnsox.bsky.social & @oxforddpag.bsky.social, and Molnar Lab (www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/research/mol...) who helped during the Summer Meeting of the Anatomical Society. Thanks to our sponsors who supported our meeting. Read more on DPAG news: www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/news/anatomi...

Excellent day at the Anatomical Society Summer Meeting at ST John's College, Oxford today. anatsoc.org.uk/meetings/our...
@ArtedelCuerpoH1, @SaraBandiera2, @anat_soc, @AnatSocSummer25, @AnatSocOxford

Possible long-term effects of environmental and genetic factors on an individual’s life. Background: Healthcare costs are rising at an exponential rate. Given the constraints of limited resources, it is essential to make informed decisions about priorities to ensure the best possible health outcomes globally. The history of medicine illustrates how these priorities have shifted over time – from early focus on infectious diseases to later emphasis on noncommunicable conditions such as metabolic disorders. Today, neurodegenerative diseases and aging brain are the forefront of medical research, as these conditions profoundly affect individuals, families, and society. Summary: One in three people will experience a mental health disorder in their lifetime, yet it is not widely recognized that many of these conditions may have origins in pre-birth experiences and early life influences. Disruptions in progenitor proliferation, neuronal and glial migration, and differentiation during prenatal development can contribute to lifelong neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Despite the fundamental importance of brain development, most of the neuroscience funding is allocated to studying neurodegeneration, such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease, while early life influences remain underexplored. Crucially, the impact of developmental factors begins even before conception. Environmental risks extend beyond direct maternal exposures during pregnancy; they include cumulative parental exposure to teratogenic agents affecting both male and female gametes, as well as early life environmental exposures affecting newborns, infants, and children. These influences are complex yet highly relevant to long-term health outcomes. Key Messages: We urge greater recognition of the developmental origins of disease and advocate for increased investment in preventive strategies. These include lifestyle modifications, dietary improvements, targeted supplementation, regular exercise, and minimizing exposu…

Why wait until the damage is done?
Our new paper highlights how many brain and mental health disorders begin before birth — yet most funding still targets late-life neurodegeneration.
It’s time to invest in prevention.
🔗 doi.org/10.1159/0005...

My STEP inTO OxMed talk "INTRODUCTION TO BRAIN DEVELOPMENT" is for 14-17 year old secondary school/ sixth form students this Friday.

Gala dinner of @corticodevelopment.bsky.social with some of winners of the poster prizes and with the students asking the best questions.

@corticodevelopment.bsky.social The conference centre shall host the lectures, coffee shall be next to the pool and the gala dinner shall be at Stella di Mare restaurant at the beach.

@corticodevelopment.bsky.social Casa del Massaro shall host the opening dinner, student and postdoc introduction and networking session.

@corticodevelopment.bsky.social Looking forward to the start of the meeting tonight!

Frontiers | Chronic silencing of Drd1a-Cre+ neurons impairs dopaminergic-driven cortical activation

Collaborative work between the Mann and Molnár Groups at @OxfordDPAG have studied a small group of specialized brain cells to investigate how they play a powerful role in keeping us alert and helping our brains process sensory information (doi.org/10.3389/fnan...).

Succinct, yet comprehensive summary of our paper doi.org/10.1038/s413... in scienmag.com
See: scienmag.com/orexin-sensi...
Possible functions of a subpopulation of neurons within lower part of layer 6 of the cerebral cortex that exhibits sensitivity to orexin.

Role of subplate neurons in the development and evolution of the mammalian neocortex
3 June 2025, 16:00
Sherrington Library, Sherrington Building DPAG
Professor Chiaki Ohtaka-Maruyama from Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan
talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/067...

An orexin-sensitive subpopulation of layer 6 neurons regulates cortical excitability and anxiety behaviour - Translational Psychiatry Translational Psychiatry - An orexin-sensitive subpopulation of layer 6 neurons regulates cortical excitability and anxiety behaviour

A collaborative study from Molnár, Mann, Bannerman and Lak labs has uncovered a population of brain cells that could play a critical role in how we experience stress and anxiety. (Messore, Narayan Therpurakal et al., 2025 - doi.org/10.1038/s413...), www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/news/molnar-...

Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a low-cost open-source home-cage monitoring system which measures the food intake and feeding behaviour of laboratory mice. doi.org/10.12688/wel....
www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/.../the-snac....

Florina Szabó makes the cover of the @journalofanatomy.bsky.social. The paper is on the bidirectional interaction between deep-layer pyramidal cells and GABAergic neurons, describing the impact of interrupting pyramidal neuron activity on inhibitory network formation. doi.org/10.1111/joa....

Black Sea Neurogenesis 2025 - Varna, Bulgaria, 05-07 June 2025
www.mu-varna.bg/EN/AboutUs/P...

Just back from an inspiring time at @ox.ac.uk as the DPhil external examiner for Barbara Sarkany, with @vineytj.bsky.social supervising & @zoltan-molnar.bsky.social as internal. Fascinating work on early thalamic tau pathology in #Alzheimers!

The new edition of European Conference on Comparative Neurobiology, ECCN2025 will take place from May 6th to 8th in beautiful Alicante (Spain) and soon you will be able to register and submit your abstracts through the conference website: eccn2025.umh.es

A “Test, Agy, Viselkedés: Három Nézet és Beszélgetések” című könyv a legmagasabb szinten végzett agykutatásról szól, különös tekintettel az agy fejlődésére, evolúciójára, perifériás szervekkel való kapcsolatára valamint agy és agy közötti kommunikációra. A könyv e tudományágak integrációjának szemléltetésével bővíti az idegtudomány jelenlegi nézeteit. Három különböző érdeklődésű tudós újszerű beszélgetési módszerével a sejtes-, endokrin-, fejlődési- és társadalmi folyamatok zökkenőmentesen szövődnek olyan témákba, amelyek a relevánsan kapcsolódnak az egészséghez illetve napjaink betegségeihez. A könyv kritikus olvasmány mindazok számára, akik szeretnének megismerkedni az idegrendszer belső működésével és ezek kapcsolataival mai világunkhoz. Publisher: Alphapress Könyvkiadó és Nyomdai Kft. Székesfehérvár 8000 Székesfehérvár Homoksor 7. Budapest 1196 Budapest, Hofherr Albert 38-42. E-mail: nyomda@alphapress.hu Fordította: Dr. Vitéz-Móré Tamás; Szakmailag lektorálta: Horváth L. Tamás , Molnár Zoltán. Felelős kiadó az Alphapress Könyvkiadó és Nyomdai Kft. Székesfehérvár 8000 Székesfehérvár Homoksor 7. Budapest 1196 Budapest, Hofherr Albert 38-42. E-mail: nyomda@alphapress.hu isbn:978-615-6235-16-9.ISBN: 978-615-6235-16-9.

Test, agy, viselkedés - Három nézet és egy beszélgetés.
alphapress.hu/termek/test-...
Hungarian translation of: Tamas Horvath, Joy Hirsh, Zoltán Molnár (2022) Body, Brain, Behavior - Three Views and a Conversation ELSEVIER,
www.amazon.co.uk/Body-Brain-F...

From Stem Cells to Assembloids to Constructing Human Neural Circuits to Study Development and Disease
@sergiuppasca.bsky.social Stanford University
4PM, Thursday, 20th February 2025 Blakemore Lecture Theatre, Sherrington Building
@oxforddpag.bsky.social
@oxneuro.bsky.social

Special Neuroscience Seminars on SCHIZOPHRENIA –
Developmental Mechanisms in Schizophrenia talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/b4b...
Cellular Models of Schizophrenia
talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/cbb...
@UCPH_BRIC, @karolinskainst.bsky.social @oxneuro.bsky.social

DPhil viva voce of Mr Ivan Alex Lazarte from @interneuron.bsky.social from Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics. Supervisors: Simon Butt, Adam Packer, Kerry Walker; External examiner: Gilad Silberberg from @karolinskainst.bsky.social, internal @zoltan-molnar.bsky.social.

Susmita Malwade's thesis defense @karolinskainst.bsky.social Supervised: Carl Sellgren (KI), Robert Harris (KI) Roy Perlis (Harvard). Chair: Martin Schalling (KI), Committee: Elias Eriksson (Gothenburg), Erika Comasco (Uppsala), Ulrika Marklund (KI). @zoltan-molnar.bsky.social was the opponent

Kaufman's Atlas of Mouse Development Supplement (2nd ed) edited by Gillian Morriss-Kay & Shankar Srinivas providing updated, in-depth anatomical content and morphological views of developing organ systems sciencedirect.com/book/9780443...
Chapter 23 - is on Brain development
doi.org/10.1016/B978...

Please keep the date for HUMAN CEREBRAL CORTEX DEVELOPMENT III - Anatomical Society Meeting 14-16th July 2025, St John’s College, Oxford
Follow up to two meetings in 2010 and in 2018 issues of the Journal of Anatomy onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... and onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14697580...

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for the Cortical Development Conference 2025 Neural Stem Cells to Neural Circuits
Giardini Naxos, Sicily, Italy
Date: 25 May to 28 May 2025
Organizers: G Fishell, AR Kriegstein, Z Molnár and F Vaccarino
corticaldevelopment.wordpress.com/registration/