Life Science Encyclopedia

Rodolfo R. Llinás (b. Bogotá, Colombia in 1934) is the Thomas and Suzanne Murphy Professor of Neuroscience and Chairman of the department of Physiology & Neuroscience at the NYU School of Medicine. He went to the Gimnasio Moderno school and received his MD from the Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá in 1959 and his PhD in 1965 from the Australian National University working under Sir John Eccles. Professor Llinás has published over 400 scientific articles.

Work

He is especially known for his work on the physiology of the cerebellum, the thalamus, Thalamocortical dysrhythmia as well as for his pioneering work on the inferior olive, on the squid giant synapse and on human magnetoencephalography (MEG).

Memberships

Llinas is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences (1986) the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1996) American Philosophical Society (1996) the Real Academia Nacional de Medicina (Spain) (1996) and the French Academy of Science (2002). Dr. Llinás has received Honorary Degrees from the following universities:

• Universidad de Salamanca (Spain) (1985)
• Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain) (1993)
• National University of Colombia (1994)
• Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain (1997)
• Universidad de los Andes,(1998), Colombia
• Toyama University, Toyama, Japan (2005)
• University of Pavia, Italy (2006)

He was also the chairman of NASA/Neurolab Science Working Group.

Contributions

His contributions include:

• Discovery of dendritic inhibition in central neurons (at the mammalian motoneuron).

• The functional organization of the cerebellar cortex neuronal circuits .

• Defining cerebellar function from an evolutionary perspective.

• First description of electrical coupling in the mammalian CNS ( mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus)

• First determination of presynaptic calcium current, under voltage clamp, at the squid giant synapse.

• Discovery that vertebrate neurons (cerebellar Purkinje cell) can generate calcium-dependent spikes .

• Discovery of the P-type calcium channel in the Purkinje cells.

• Discovery of low threshold spikes generated by low voltage activated calcium conductaces (presently known as due to T-type calcium channel) in inferior olive and thalamus neurons

• Direct demonstration of calcium concentration microdomains at the presynaptic active zone.

• Utilization of magnetoencephalography in clinical research.

• Discovery of subthreshold membrane potential oscillations in the inferior olive, thalamus and entorhinal cortex.

• The discovery of Thalamocortical dysrhythmia .

• Artificial olivo-cerebellar motor control system as part of the project BAUV (Undersea Vehicle) of the US Navy developed by P. Bandyopadhyay.

Selected bibliography

• Hubbard, J.I., Llinas, R. and Quastel, D.M.J. Electrophysiological Analysis of Synaptic Transmission. London: Edward Arnold Publishers 1969.

• Llinas, R. Editor. Neurobiology of Cerebellar Evolution and Development. (Chicago: Am. Med. Association, 1969)

• Llinas, R. I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 2001). ISBN 0262621630

• Llinas, Rodolfo R. The Squid Giant Synapse : A Model for Chemical Transmission Oxford University Press, USA (December 15, 1999) ISBN 0195116526

• Llinás, Rodolfo R. and Churchland, Patricia S. Mind-Brain Continuum: Sensory Processes The MIT Press (September 9, 1996) ISBN 0262121980

• Llinas, Rodolfo R., and Steriade, Mircea. Bursting of thalamic neurons and states of vigilance. Invited Review J. Neurophysiol ,95:3297-3308, 2006.

Newspaper articles

• New Way Of Looking At Diseases Of the Brain The New York Times October 26, 1999
• Listening to the Conversation of Neurons The New York Times May 27, 1997
• New York Times announcement of election to the [National Academy of Sciences]