Michael Williamson
@m-r-williamson.bsky.social
Postdoc at Baylor College of Medicine. Interested in glial biology, memory, neural repair. 🇨🇦
Pinned
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall - Nature
A study in mice shows that learning induces c-Fos expression in a subset of astrocytes in the hippocampus, and that ensembles of these learning-associated astrocytes are involved in the recall of memo...
www.nature.com
For my first post here: excited to share our new work out in Nature!
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Astrocytic Sox9 overexpression in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models promotes Aβ plaque phagocytosis and preserves cognitive function
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 21, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Astrocytic Sox9 overexpression in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models promotes Aβ plaque phagocytosis and preserves cognitive function
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Finally it’s here! 🌟⬇️
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I’m sooo excited to share our latest article led by Steve Hill and Isabel Bravo-Ferrer
1- How does the vasculature communicate with astrocytes?
2- Is this communication dependent to what happens in the body.
3- Is it relevant to human diseases?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I’m sooo excited to share our latest article led by Steve Hill and Isabel Bravo-Ferrer
1- How does the vasculature communicate with astrocytes?
2- Is this communication dependent to what happens in the body.
3- Is it relevant to human diseases?
Fig. 1: Establishment of methods to identify astrocyte endfoot proteins. | Nature Communications
www.nature.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Finally it’s here! 🌟⬇️
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I’m sooo excited to share our latest article led by Steve Hill and Isabel Bravo-Ferrer
1- How does the vasculature communicate with astrocytes?
2- Is this communication dependent to what happens in the body.
3- Is it relevant to human diseases?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I’m sooo excited to share our latest article led by Steve Hill and Isabel Bravo-Ferrer
1- How does the vasculature communicate with astrocytes?
2- Is this communication dependent to what happens in the body.
3- Is it relevant to human diseases?
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Excited to share the latest from the lab on the molecular mechanisms of silencing and un-silencing a hippocampal engram ensemble. Was fun using a variant of the EPSILON technique developed by Adam Cohen's lab.
(1/2)
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
(1/2)
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Molecular mechanisms mediating engram ensemble retrievability state in mice
Engrams, ensembles of neurons that store memories, exist along a continuum of retrievability. Normally, sensory cues can reactivate a latent engram to…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Excited to share the latest from the lab on the molecular mechanisms of silencing and un-silencing a hippocampal engram ensemble. Was fun using a variant of the EPSILON technique developed by Adam Cohen's lab.
(1/2)
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
(1/2)
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Michael Williamson
New paper from the lab 🚨
Led by Ali Golbabaei, this study explores the how the composition of prefrontal cortical engrams changes with memory age:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lzT-3BtfH...
Led by Ali Golbabaei, this study explores the how the composition of prefrontal cortical engrams changes with memory age:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lzT-3BtfH...
authors.elsevier.com
October 22, 2025 at 6:50 PM
New paper from the lab 🚨
Led by Ali Golbabaei, this study explores the how the composition of prefrontal cortical engrams changes with memory age:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lzT-3BtfH...
Led by Ali Golbabaei, this study explores the how the composition of prefrontal cortical engrams changes with memory age:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lzT-3BtfH...
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Thrilled to share this work from my postdoc with Tom Carmichael, available online @ Neuron! Long story short: we find even more evidence that all reactive astrocytes are not equal, and we can take advantage of those differences to improve repair after stroke.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Regionally mapped astrocytic responses to cortical and white matter stroke show differential roles in astrocyte-induced vascular remodeling
Stroke is a major cause of disability. Astrocytes respond to stroke in a gradated manner, but details of that response and its consequences for tissue…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 10, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Thrilled to share this work from my postdoc with Tom Carmichael, available online @ Neuron! Long story short: we find even more evidence that all reactive astrocytes are not equal, and we can take advantage of those differences to improve repair after stroke.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Michael Williamson
New paper from the lab led by Ali Golbabaei. If you’re interested in systems consolidation, generalization and hippocampal neurogenesis a short 🧵 follows:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lsO73QW8S...
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lsO73QW8S...
authors.elsevier.com
October 1, 2025 at 12:39 AM
New paper from the lab led by Ali Golbabaei. If you’re interested in systems consolidation, generalization and hippocampal neurogenesis a short 🧵 follows:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lsO73QW8S...
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lsO73QW8S...
We have a new review out in TINS!
A functional perspective on astrocyte heterogeneity
www.cell.com/trends/neuro...
A functional perspective on astrocyte heterogeneity
www.cell.com/trends/neuro...
A functional perspective on astrocyte heterogeneity
Astrocytes are glial cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that perform an array
of diverse functions that are essential for brain activity. Studies on the functional
diversity of astrocytes sugge...
www.cell.com
July 22, 2025 at 11:28 AM
We have a new review out in TINS!
A functional perspective on astrocyte heterogeneity
www.cell.com/trends/neuro...
A functional perspective on astrocyte heterogeneity
www.cell.com/trends/neuro...
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Super interesting review on astrocyte development by @m-r-williamson.bsky.social and colleagues ! #astrocytes #glia #review
Development and diversity of astrocytes
Summary: This Development at a Glance article provides an overview of astrocyte ontogeny and morphogenesis, highlighting mechanisms that regulate the development of astrocytes, the most abundant glial...
doi.org
July 20, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Super interesting review on astrocyte development by @m-r-williamson.bsky.social and colleagues ! #astrocytes #glia #review
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Absolutely thrilled to share the first half of my PhD work! Super proud to see it finally out!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thread below for a quick (10 point) recap of what we found!
🧵🧪🧠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thread below for a quick (10 point) recap of what we found!
🧵🧪🧠
A divergent astrocytic response to stress alters activity patterns via distinct mechanisms in male and female mice - Nature Communications
Early-life stress has lifelong impacts on neuronal function and behavior. Here, the authors show that astrocytic glucocorticoid receptor signaling drives stress-induced neuronal and behavioral change ...
www.nature.com
July 11, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Absolutely thrilled to share the first half of my PhD work! Super proud to see it finally out!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thread below for a quick (10 point) recap of what we found!
🧵🧪🧠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thread below for a quick (10 point) recap of what we found!
🧵🧪🧠
Sharing our new short review on development and diversity of astrocytes!
journals.biologists.com/dev/article-...
journals.biologists.com/dev/article-...
Development and diversity of astrocytes
Summary: This Development at a Glance article provides an overview of astrocyte ontogeny and morphogenesis, highlighting mechanisms that regulate the development of astrocytes, the most abundant glial...
journals.biologists.com
July 8, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Sharing our new short review on development and diversity of astrocytes!
journals.biologists.com/dev/article-...
journals.biologists.com/dev/article-...
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Happy to share new paper from MSc grads Myrthe and Jenna. We asked the question, when part of the brain dies during stroke, what happens to local and distant cortical neurons that innervate the stroke site (in S1 cortex) or those that receive outputs? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Retrograde and anterograde trans-synaptic viral tracing of neuronal connections reveals local and distant effects of ischemic stroke on dendritic spines - Myrthe Van Sprengel, Jenna Butterworth, Patri...
Focal stroke leads to complex neurological disturbances with variable recovery. One explanation for this variability is that stroke disrupts local and remote ne...
journals.sagepub.com
May 27, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Happy to share new paper from MSc grads Myrthe and Jenna. We asked the question, when part of the brain dies during stroke, what happens to local and distant cortical neurons that innervate the stroke site (in S1 cortex) or those that receive outputs? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Thought this would be a nice way to enter the bsky community👇Delighted for Katie (now in Chris Dulla's lab at Tufts). Thank you to our collaborators, to the reviewers and to Cagla Eroglu for the highlight!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Norepinephrine signals through astrocytes to modulate synapses
Locus ceruleus (LC)–derived norepinephrine (NE) drives network and behavioral adaptations to environmental saliencies by reconfiguring circuit functional connectivity, but the underlying synapse-level...
www.science.org
May 16, 2025 at 4:34 AM
Thought this would be a nice way to enter the bsky community👇Delighted for Katie (now in Chris Dulla's lab at Tufts). Thank you to our collaborators, to the reviewers and to Cagla Eroglu for the highlight!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Sharing a new paper from the lab. This paper, led by Sangyoon Ko, represents a merging of two longstanding research themes in the lab-- adult neurogenesis and systems consolidation.
rdcu.be/el18q
A short thread follows for those interested.
1/n
rdcu.be/el18q
A short thread follows for those interested.
1/n
Systems consolidation reorganizes hippocampal engram circuitry
Nature - A study shows that loss of memory precision associated with systems consolidation can be explained by neurogenesis-dependent reorganization of engram circuitry within the hippocampus over...
rdcu.be
May 14, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Sharing a new paper from the lab. This paper, led by Sangyoon Ko, represents a merging of two longstanding research themes in the lab-- adult neurogenesis and systems consolidation.
rdcu.be/el18q
A short thread follows for those interested.
1/n
rdcu.be/el18q
A short thread follows for those interested.
1/n
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Thrilled to announce that my lab is now open at Ohio State! We study astrocytes as gene therapy targets for brain repair after ischemic stroke and in vascular dementia, developing new viral tools along the way. If you're interesting in joining or collaborating, please reach out!
gleichmanlab.com
gleichmanlab.com
The Gleichman lab
gleichmanlab.com
May 1, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Thrilled to announce that my lab is now open at Ohio State! We study astrocytes as gene therapy targets for brain repair after ischemic stroke and in vascular dementia, developing new viral tools along the way. If you're interesting in joining or collaborating, please reach out!
gleichmanlab.com
gleichmanlab.com
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Check out our latest paper today in Nature: “Goal specific hippocampal inhibition gates learning” www.nature.com/articles/s41...
By Nuri Jeong, Xiao Zheng, Abby Paulson, Steph Prince and colleagues.
By Nuri Jeong, Xiao Zheng, Abby Paulson, Steph Prince and colleagues.
April 9, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Check out our latest paper today in Nature: “Goal specific hippocampal inhibition gates learning” www.nature.com/articles/s41...
By Nuri Jeong, Xiao Zheng, Abby Paulson, Steph Prince and colleagues.
By Nuri Jeong, Xiao Zheng, Abby Paulson, Steph Prince and colleagues.
Reposted by Michael Williamson
I get a lot of questions on the #NIH #K99 #postdoc to faculty transition award. Decided to pen my thoughts and experiences towards receiving the K99/R00 - hoping it would be helpful for the community.
Please find article link at -
debosardarlab.org/blog
Please find article link at -
debosardarlab.org/blog
December 26, 2024 at 10:01 AM
I get a lot of questions on the #NIH #K99 #postdoc to faculty transition award. Decided to pen my thoughts and experiences towards receiving the K99/R00 - hoping it would be helpful for the community.
Please find article link at -
debosardarlab.org/blog
Please find article link at -
debosardarlab.org/blog
Reposted by Michael Williamson
⭐Christmas highlight in Cell Research! @sjo09.bsky.social and I address the idea that learning-associated astrocytes become essential members of a memory engram ensemble, shifting the neuron-centric view of memory function. Big shoutout to @m-r-williamson.bsky.social!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Astrocytes: emerging stars of engrams - Cell Research
Cell Research - Astrocytes: emerging stars of engrams
doi.org
December 23, 2024 at 1:49 PM
⭐Christmas highlight in Cell Research! @sjo09.bsky.social and I address the idea that learning-associated astrocytes become essential members of a memory engram ensemble, shifting the neuron-centric view of memory function. Big shoutout to @m-r-williamson.bsky.social!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Do you think you’ve conquered the enigma of the memory engram? News flash: You’re only scratching the surface. :)
In our latest work (led by @Clement), we dissected the engram to uncover what information is processed during encoding and becomes the essence of the recalled memory.
In our latest work (led by @Clement), we dissected the engram to uncover what information is processed during encoding and becomes the essence of the recalled memory.
December 13, 2024 at 12:57 PM
Do you think you’ve conquered the enigma of the memory engram? News flash: You’re only scratching the surface. :)
In our latest work (led by @Clement), we dissected the engram to uncover what information is processed during encoding and becomes the essence of the recalled memory.
In our latest work (led by @Clement), we dissected the engram to uncover what information is processed during encoding and becomes the essence of the recalled memory.
Reposted by Michael Williamson
For my first post here: excited to share our new work out in Nature!
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall - Nature
A study in mice shows that learning induces c-Fos expression in a subset of astrocytes in the hippocampus, and that ensembles of these learning-associated astrocytes are involved in the recall of memo...
www.nature.com
November 17, 2024 at 8:36 PM
For my first post here: excited to share our new work out in Nature!
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Michael Williamson
Congrats to the team! Here we directly image and quantify cerebral #angiogenesis and pruning in vivo. Found interesting regional differences and dependence on #notch signalling. Where you look does matter!
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Angiogenesis in the mature mouse cortex is governed in a regional- and Notch1-dependent manner
The angiogenic capacity of the mature healthy brain and its underlying mechanisms
are unclear. Raudales et al. show that rates of cerebral angiogenesis follow regional
gradients and are regulated by e...
www.cell.com
November 28, 2024 at 10:12 PM
Congrats to the team! Here we directly image and quantify cerebral #angiogenesis and pruning in vivo. Found interesting regional differences and dependence on #notch signalling. Where you look does matter!
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
For my first post here: excited to share our new work out in Nature!
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall - Nature
A study in mice shows that learning induces c-Fos expression in a subset of astrocytes in the hippocampus, and that ensembles of these learning-associated astrocytes are involved in the recall of memo...
www.nature.com
November 17, 2024 at 8:36 PM
For my first post here: excited to share our new work out in Nature!
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Learning-associated astrocyte ensembles regulate memory recall
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Michael Williamson
xcited to share our new results! We (huge team effort led by post-doc extraordinaire Sylvie Lesuis) examined the effects of acute stress on threat memory generalization and engram ensemble architecture.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Stress disrupts engram ensembles in lateral amygdala to generalize threat memory in mice
Stress induces aversive memory overgeneralization, a hallmark of many psychiatric disorders. Memories are encoded by a sparse ensemble of neurons acti…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 15, 2024 at 4:37 PM
xcited to share our new results! We (huge team effort led by post-doc extraordinaire Sylvie Lesuis) examined the effects of acute stress on threat memory generalization and engram ensemble architecture.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...