Dr. Gary Lynch, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of California at Irvine, will discuss “New Prospects for Enhancing Memory and Cognition” at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10, at the University Center on the campus of the University of North Florida.

He is a co-founder of one privately-held and two publicly-traded companies and has authored nearly 600 scientific publications, including two books. Lynch holds around 20 issued patents and is one of the world’s most highly cited neuroscientists.

Lynch is a pioneer in the study of long-term potentiation (LTP), a form of synaptic plasticity widely regarded as the substrate of everyday forms of memory. His laboratory discovered that LTP is triggered post-synaptically by calcium, becomes expressed by a change in post-synaptic transmitter receptors, involves structural changes at synapses, and requires about 30 minutes to consolidate. Related to this, Lynch is the co-inventor of ampakines, a novel class of psychiatric drugs now in clinical testing.

He received his doctorate from Princeton University and has been a Councilor of the Society for Neuroscience and a member of various scientific advisory boards, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA, Allergan, Inc. and E.I. DuPont.

This lecture is part of the Distinguished Voices Inquiry and Insight Lecture Series. Tickets for this free lecture can be ordered online four weeks prior to the event.

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