Péter Somogyi

Péter Somogyi has pioneered the identification of individual neurons by defining their synaptic relationships, molecular composition, synaptic effects and temporal dynamics recorded both in vitro and in vivo. He discovered and defined many neurons and their place in synaptic circuits of the neocortex, the hippocampus, the cerebellum, and the basal ganglia. His work has led to the molecular dissection of synaptic junctions through the quantitative, high-resolution electron microscopic localization of neurotransmitter receptors; he discovered the perisynaptic domain as a specific molecular assembly and the pre- and postsynaptic compartmentalization of distinct receptor types in or outside the synaptic junction.

In more recent work, Péter Somogyi’s laboratory is defining how the activity of neuronal assemblies is co-ordinated and emerges from the co-operative interactions of rigorously defined neuronal circuits in the cerebral cortex, particularly in the hippocampus. Specific circuits are defined and dissected in terms of their constituent cell types, functional synaptic relationships and molecular machinery mediating the interactions. The role of selected interactions is established in the functional behaviour of the cortical network. His long-term vision that explanations of normal and pathological events in the brain can only come from the rigorous definition of the neuronal circuits has become widely recognized and many of the approaches that he introduced to neuroscience have been adopted widely.