Rodolfo Llinás Explained

Native Name:	Rodolfo Llinás Riascos
Birth Date:	1934 12, df=yes
Birth Place:	Bogotá, Colombia
Nationality:	Colombian and American
Alma Mater:	Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and Australian National University
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Doctoral Advisor:	Sir John Eccles
Known For:	Physiology of the cerebellum, the thalamus, Thalamocortical dysrhythmia as well as for his pioneering work on the inferior olivary nucleus, on the squid giant synapse and on human magnetoencephalography (MEG)
Field:	Neuroscience
Work Institutions:	NYU School of Medicine

Rodolfo Llinás Riascos (born 16 December 1934) is a Colombian and American neuroscientist. He is currently the Thomas and Suzanne Murphy Professor of Neuroscience and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Physiology & Neuroscience at the NYU School of Medicine. Llinás has published over 800 scientific articles.^[1]

Early life

Llinás was born in Bogotá, Colombia. He is the son of Jorge Enrique Llinás (a surgeon of Spanish descent, whose family arrived in Colombia at the end of the 19th century)^[2] and Bertha Riascos. He was motivated to study the brain by watching his grandfather Pablo Llinás Olarte working as a neuropsychiatrist. Llinás describes himself as a logical positivist.^[3]

Education and early research

Llinás went to the Gimnasio Moderno school in Bogotá and graduated as a medical doctor from the Pontifical Xavierian University in 1959. During his medical studies he had the opportunity to travel to Europe and there he met several researchers in Spain, France and finally Switzerland, where he participated in neurophysiology experiments with Dr. Walter Rudolf Hess, Nobel Prize in Physiology, Medicine, professor and director of the Department of the Institute of Physiology of the University of Zurich. Additionally, while studying medicine he made a theoretical thesis on the visual system under the tuition of neurosurgeon and neurophysiologist Fernando Rosas and the mathematician Carlo Federici at the National University of Colombia.^[4] He received his PhD in 1965 from the Australian National University working under Sir John Eccles.^[5]

Personal life

By graduation in Australia, he was very interested in the biological basis of the mind. During this time he met his future wife who was studying philosophy. His two sons, Drs. Rafael and Alexander Llinas, are also physicians. His wife, Gillian Llinas (née Kimber) is an Australian philosopher of mind.Llinás was a scientific advisor during the establishment of an interactive science museum located in Bogotá, Colombia called Maloka Museum. In 2018, Llinás donated a T-Rex skeleton to the museum and helped to design a model of the nervous system for the dinosaur fossils.^[6]

Work

He has studied the electrophysiology of single neurons in the cerebellum, the thalamus, the cerebral cortex, the entorhinal cortex, the hippocampus, the vestibular system, the inferior olive and the spinal cord. He has studied synaptic transmitter release in the squid giant synapse. He has studied human brain function using magnetoencephalography (MEG) on the basis of which he introduced the concept of Thalamocortical dysrhythmia.^[7]

Career

Llinás has occupied a number of positions.

• Research fellow, Massachusetts General Hosp.-Harvard University, 1960–61
• National Institutes of Health research fellow in physiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1961–63
• Associate professor, University Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1965–66
• Associate member, American Medical Association Institute Biomed. Research, Chicago, 1966–68
• Member, American Medical Association Institute Biomed. Research, Chicago, 1970
• Head neurobiology unit, American Medical Association Institute Biomed. Research, Chicago, 1967–70
• Associate professor neurology and psychiatry, Northwestern University, 1967–71
• Guest professor physiology, Wayne State University, 1967–74
• Professorial lecturer pharmacology, University Ill.-Chgo., 1967–68
• Clinical professor, University Ill.-Chgo., 1968–72
• Professor physiology, head neurobiology div., University of Iowa, 1970–76
• Prof., chairman physiology and biophysics, New York University, New York City, 1976—2011
• Thomas and Suzanne Murphy professor neuroscience., New York University, 1985—
• University Professor, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology., New York University, 2011—

Contributions

Llinás is known for his many contributions to neuroscience, however, his most important contributions are the following:

• Discovery of dendritic inhibition in central neurons (at the mammalian motoneuron).^{[8] [9]}
• The functional organization of the cerebellar cortex neuronal circuits.^[10]
• Defining cerebellar function from an evolutionary perspective.^[11]
• First description of electrical coupling in the mammalian CNS (mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus).^[12]
• First determination of presynaptic calcium current, under voltage clamp, at the squid giant synapse.^{[13] [14]}
• Discovery that vertebrate neurons (cerebellar Purkinje cell) can generate calcium-dependent spikes.^[15]
• Proposal and Organization of NASA Neurolab Project that flew on April 17, 1998, Space Shuttle Columbia.^[16]
• Discovery of the P-type calcium channel in the Purkinje cells.^[17]
• 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.^{[18] [19]}
• A tensor network model of the transformation of sensory space-time coordinates into motor coordinates by the cerebellum.^[20]
• Asserting the law of no interchangeability of neurons, which it is known as Llinás' law.^[21]
• Direct demonstration of calcium concentration microdomains at the presynaptic active zone.^[22]
• Utilization of magnetoencephalography in clinical research.^[23]
• Discovery of subthreshold membrane potential oscillations in the inferior olive, thalamus and entorhinal cortex.^{[24] [25]}
• The discovery of Thalamocortical dysrhythmia.^[7]
• Artificial olivo-cerebellar motor control system as part of the project BAUV (Undersea Vehicle) of the US Navy developed by P. Bandyopadhyay.^{[26] [27]}

Memberships and honors

Llinás is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences (1986),http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/53184.html the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1996),https://www.amacad.org/person/rodolfo-riascos-llinas American Philosophical Society (1996),^[28] 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)
• Los Andes University (Colombia), Bogotá, Colombia, (1998)
• Toyama University, Toyama, Japan (2005)
• University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy (2006)

Dr. Llinás has received the following awards:

• UNESCO Albert Einstein medal (1991)
• Order of Boyaca Awarded President of Colombia for exceptional service to Colombia (1992)
• Bernard Katz Award Biohysical Society, Washington USA (2012)http://www.biophysics.org/Membership/Subgroups/ExocytosisEndocytosis/PastSirBernardKatzAwardees/tabid/2328/Default.aspx
• , Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain (2012)http://nyulangone.org/press-releases/neuroscientist-rodolfo-llinas-md-phd-awarded-gold-medal-from-the-spanish-national-research-council-csic
• Cajal Diploma given by Queen Sofia of Spain Madrid, Spain (2013)
• Ragnar Granit Lecture and Award, Nobel Institute, Stockholm, Sweden (2013)
• Castilla del Pino Lecture and Award Cordoba, Spain (2015)http://www.uco.es/informacion/webs/fundacioncastilla/premios/258-11o-edicion-prof-rodolfo-llinas
• Nansen Neuroscience Lecture and award Norwegian Academy of Science, Oslo, Norway (2016)http://www.med.uio.no/imb/english/research/news-and-events/events/distinguished-seminar/2016/rodolfo-llinas-art-brain-functions.html
• Scholar of the Year Australian National University, Canberra, Australia (2016)http://www.anu.edu.au/alumni/our-alumni/spotlight/professor-rodolfo-llinas
• Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience Society for Neuroscience, (2018) https://www.sfn.org/Publications/Latest-News/2018/11/03/Society-for-Neuroscience-Confers-Rodolfo-Llin%C3%A1s-the-Ralph-W-Gerard-Prize-in-Neuroscience

He was the chairman of NASA/Neurolab Science Working Group, in 2011 received University Professor Distinction from New York University https://med.nyu.edu/neuroscience/%5Btype%5D/rodolfo-llin%C3%A1s-md-phd-receives-university-professor-distinction-new-york-university and in 2013, the NYU Neuroscience Institute created the Annual Rodolfo Llinás Lecture Series in recognition of his contributions to the field of neuroscience.^[29]

Filmography

• Llinas, el cerebro y el universo. Documentary film, by Gonzalo Argandoña, Cabala Producción Audiovisual, (2018) RTVCplay https://www.rtvcplay.co/llinas-el-cerebro-y-el-universo

Selected bibliography

Llinás is the author of more than 20 book chapters and has edited several books on neuroscience.

Books

• Hubbard, J.I., Llinás, R. and Quastel, D.M.J. Electrophysiological Analysis of Synaptic Transmission. London: Edward Arnold Publishers 1969.
• Llinás, R. Editor. Neurobiology of Cerebellar Evolution and Development. (Chicago: Am. Med. Association, 1969)
• Precht, W., Llinás, R. (eds.): Frog Neurobiology: a handbook. (Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1976).
• Steriade, M., Jones, E., y Llinás, R (Eds.): Thalamic Oscillations and Signaling. The Neurosciences Institute Publications Series. (John Wiley & Sons, 1990).
• Llinás, R. y Sotelo, C (eds.): The Cerebellum Revisited. (Nueva York: Springer-Verlag, 1992).
• Buzsaki, G., Llinas, R., Singer, W., Berthoz, A., Christen, Y. (eds.): Temporal Coding in the Brain. (Nueva York: Springer-Verlag, 1994).
• Latorre, R., López-Barneo, J., Bezanilla, F., Llinás, R. (Eds) Biofísica y fisiología celular. (Universidad de Sevilla, España, 1996).
• Llinás, Rodolfo R. and Churchland, Patricia S. Mind-Brain Continuum: Sensory Processes The MIT Press (September 9, 1996)
• Llinás, Rodolfo R. The Squid Giant Synapse : A Model for Chemical Transmission Oxford University Press, USA (December 15, 1999)
• Llinás, Rodolfo. El reto: Educación, Ciencia y Tecnología. Tercer Mundo Editores, (2000)
• Llinás, R. (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 2001).

Book chapters

• Llinas R, Rivary U. Perception as an oneiric-like state modulated by the senses. Chapter 6. In: Koch C. Large-scale neuronal theories of the brain. Bradford Book. (1994).
• Llinas RR., Walton KD. Cerebellum. Chapter 7. In: Shepherd GM. The synaptic organization of the brain. 4th Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. (1998)
• Llinas RR., Walton KD., Lang EJ. Cerebellum. Chapter 7. In: Shepherd GM. The synaptic organization of the brain. 5th Ed. Oxford University Press. (2004)
• Llinas, R. R. Neuroscientific basis of consciousness and dreaming. Chapter 3.6. In: Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive textbook of psychiatry. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 8th ed. (2005).
• Llinás, R. Electrophysiology of the Cerebellar Networks. Comprehensive Physiology (2011). Supplement 2. Handbook of Physiology, The Nervous System, Motor Control.
• Llinas RR., Walton K. Central pain: a thalamic deafferentation generating thalamocortical dysrhythmia. Chapter 4. In: Saab CY. Chronic pain and brain abnormalities. Academic Press-Elsevier (2014).
• Llinas, RR. Oscillation in the inferior olive neurons: Functional implication. Chapter 39. pp. 293–298. In: Essentials of Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders: A Primer for Graduate Students. Springer (2016)
• Llinas, R. R. Consciousness and Dreaming from a Pathophysiological Perspective: The Thalamocortical Dysrhythmia Syndrome. Chapter 3.5. In: Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive textbook of psychiatry. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 10th ed. (2017).

Selected review articles

• Llinás RR . The intrinsic electrophysiological properties of mammalian neurons: insights into central nervous system function . Science . 242 . 4886. 1654–64 . 10.1126/science.3059497 . 3059497 . December 1988 . 1988Sci...242.1654L .
• Llinás RR, Sugimori M, Cherksey B . 1989 . Voltage-dependent calcium conductance in mammalian neurons. The P channel . Ann N Y Acad Sci . 560 . 103–11 . 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1989.tb24084.x . 2545128 . 84107834 .
• Llinás RR . 1991 . Depolarization release coupling: an overview . Ann N Y Acad Sci . 635 . 1. 3–17 . 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1991.tb36476.x . 1660239 . 1991NYASA.635....3L . 30849546 .
• Llinás RR, Paré D . 1991 . Of dreaming and wakefulness . Neuroscience . 44 . 3. 521–35 . 10.1016/0306-4522(91)90075-y . 1754050 . 32125577 . free .
• Llinás R, Ribary U . Apr 2001 . Consciousness and the brain. The thalamocortical dialogue in health and disease . Ann N Y Acad Sci . 929 . 166–75 . 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb05715.x . 11349424 . 146564098 .
• Llinás Rodolfo R., Steriade Mircea . 2006. Bursting of thalamic neurons and states of vigilance. Invited Review . J. Neurophysiol. . 95 . 6. 3297–3308 . 10.1152/jn.00166.2006 . 16554502 .
• Book: Roy S, Llinás R . Models of Brain and Mind - Physical, Computational and Psychological Approaches . Dynamic geometry, brain function modeling, and consciousness . Prog Brain Res . Progress in Brain Research . 2007 . 168 . 133–44 . 10.1016/S0079-6123(07)68011-X . 18166391 . 9780444530509 .
• Llinás RR . 2011. Cerebellar motor learning versus cerebellar motor timing: the climbing fibre story . J Physiol . 589 . 14. 3423–32 . 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.207464 . 21486816. 3167107.
• Buzsáki G, Llinás R . 2017. Space and time in the brain . Science . 358 . 6362. 482–485 . 10.1126/science.aan8869 . 29074768. 5998813. 2017Sci...358..482B.

External links

• NYU Neurophysiology website about Rodolfo Llinás
• NYU Medicine faculty website about Rodolfo Llinás
• Web site: List of Articles on Google Scholar . Google Scholar . 2016 . 2 June 2016.

Newspaper articles

• Estrella de la sabiduría en la Universidad Nacional Tribute at National University of Colombia
• Enter the "I" of the Vortex The Science Network interview with Rodolfo Llinás
• In a Host of Ailments, Seeing a Brain Out of Rhythm The New York Times December 8, 2008
• 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]

Notes and References

1. NYU Health Sciences Library: Faculty Bibliography. Retrieved June 14, 2021
2. Web site: "La pregunta difícil": La vida y obra de Rodolfo Llinás. 25 November 2017. 16 May 2021. elespectador.com. es.
3. P. (2016). Rodolfo R. Llinas - Can Science Talk God? Retrieved August 26, 2016, from https://www.closertotruth.com/series/can-science-talk-god
4. Book: Correa, Pablo. Rodolfo Llinás. La pregunta difícil. 2017. Aguilar. 9789585425408. es.
5. Book: Squire, Larry R. The history of neuroscience in autobiography. Larry Squire. 2006. Elsevier. New York, New York. 978-0-12-370514-3. 413.
6. Web site: Maloka se reinventa y estrena atracción: un tiranosaurio rex. Tiempo. Casa Editorial El. 2018-07-24. El Tiempo. es. 2019-05-22.
7. Llinás R, Ribary U, Jeanmonod D, Kronberg E, Mitra P . Thalamocortical dysrhythmia: A neurological and neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by magnetoencephalography . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. . 96 . 26 . 15222–7 . 1999 . 10611366 . 10.1073/pnas.96.26.15222 . 24801. 1999PNAS...9615222L . free .
8. Llinas. R. Terzuolo CA. Mechanisms of supraspinal actions upon spinal cord activities. Reticular inhibitory mechanisms on alpha-extensor motoneurons. The Journal of Neurophysiology. 1964. 27. 4. 579–491. 10.1152/jn.1964.27.4.579. 14194959.
9. Llinas. R. Terzuolo CA. Mechanisms of supraspinal actions upon spinal cord activities. Reticular inhibitory mechanisms upon flexor motoneurons. The Journal of Neurophysiology. 1965. 28. 2. 413–422. 10.1152/jn.1965.28.2.413. 14283063.
10. Book: The synaptic organization of the brain. Llinás . Rodolfo. Walton. Kerry D. Lang. Eric J. Shepherd . Gordon M. Gordon M. Shepherd. 2004. Oxford University press. New York, New York. 978-0-19-515955-4. 1st pub. 1974 . 271–310 . Chapter 7: Cerebellum . https://books.google.com/books?id=rfcRDAAAQBAJ&q=The+Synaptic+Organization+of+the+Brain+Gordon+M.+Shepherd.
11. Llinas. RR. 1969. Functional aspects of interneuronal evolution in the cerebellar cortex. UCLA Forum Med Sci. 11. 329–48. 5397400.
12. Baker. R.. Llinás. R.. 1971-01-01. Electrotonic coupling between neurones in the rat mesencephalic nucleus. The Journal of Physiology. 212. 1. 45–63. 0022-3751. 1395705. 5545184. 10.1113/jphysiol.1971.sp009309.
13. Llinás. R.. Steinberg. I. Z.. Walton. K.. 1976-08-01. Presynaptic calcium currents and their relation to synaptic transmission: voltage clamp study in squid giant synapse and theoretical model for the calcium gate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 73. 8. 2918–2922. 0027-8424. 430802. 183215. 10.1073/pnas.73.8.2918. 1976PNAS...73.2918L. free.
14. Llinás. R.. Steinberg. I. Z.. Walton. K.. 1980-09-01. Transmission in the squid giant synapse: a model based on voltage clamp studies. Journal de Physiologie. 76. 5. 413–418. 0021-7948. 6256531.
15. Llinás. R.. Sugimori. M.. 1980-08-01. Electrophysiological properties of in vitro Purkinje cell dendrites in mammalian cerebellar slices. The Journal of Physiology. 305. 197–213. 0022-3751. 1282967. 7441553. 10.1113/jphysiol.1980.sp013358.
16. Book: Buckey, Jay C.. Neurolab Spacelab Mission: Neuroscience Research in Space. NASA. 2003. 978-0-9725339-0-4. Houston, Texas.
17. Llinas. R. Sugimori. Electrophysiological Properties of in Vitro Purkinje Cell Somata in Mammalian Cerebellar Slices. The Journal of Physiology. 1980. 305. 171–195. 10.1113/jphysiol.1980.sp013357. 7441552. 1282966.
18. Llinás. R.. Yarom. Y.. June 1981. Electrophysiology of mammalian inferior olivary neurones in vitro. Different types of voltage-dependent ionic conductances. The Journal of Physiology. 315. 549–567. 0022-3751. 1249398. 6273544. 10.1113/jphysiol.1981.sp013763.
19. Llinás. R.. Yarom. Y.. June 1981. Properties and distribution of ionic conductances generating electroresponsiveness of mammalian inferior olivary neurones in vitro. The Journal of Physiology. 315. 569–584. 0022-3751. 1249399. 7310722. 10.1113/jphysiol.1981.sp013764.
20. Book: Roy. Sisir. Llinás. Rodolfo. Dynamic geometry, brain function modeling, and consciousness . 133–144. 10.1016/s0079-6123(07)68011-x. 18166391. Models of Brain and Mind - Physical, Computational and Psychological Approaches. 168. Progress in Brain Research. 2007. 9780444530509.
21. Llinás, Rodolfo (1990). «Intrinsic Electrical Properties of Mammalian Neurons and CNS Function». Fidia Research Foundation Neuroscience Award Lectures, 1988-1989 (Raven Press) 4: p. 175.
22. Llinas. R. Sugimori, M. Silver, R.. Microdomains of high calcium concentration in a presynaptic terminal. Science. 1 May 1992. 256. 5057. 677–679. 10.1126/science.1350109. 1350109. 1992Sci...256..677L.
23. Rezai. A. R.. Hund. M.. Kronberg. E.. Deletis. V.. Zonenshayn. M.. Cappell. J.. Ribary. U.. Llinás. R.. Kelly. P. J.. 1995. Introduction of magnetoencephalography to stereotactic techniques. Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. 65. 1–4. 37–41. 1011-6125. 8916327. 10.1159/000098894.
24. Llinas R., Yarom Y. . 1986 . Oscillatory properties of guinea-pig inferior olivary neurones and their pharmacological modulation: an in vitro study . J. Physiol. . 376 . 163–182 . 10.1113/jphysiol.1986.sp016147. 3795074 . 1182792.
25. Alonso A., Llinas R. . 1989 . Subthreshold Na+-dependent theta-like rhythmicity in entorhinal cortex layer II stellate cells . Nature . 342 . 6246. 175–177 . 10.1038/342175a0. 2812013 . 1892764 .
26. Llinas. R. R.. Leznik. E.. Makarenko. V. I.. July 2004. The olivo-cerebellar circuit as a universal motor control system. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering. 29. 3. 631–639. 10.1109/joe.2004.833212. 2004IJOE...29..631L. 21127267. 0364-9059.
27. Book: Bandyopadhyay, Promode R.. Springer Handbook of Ocean Engineering . Springer International Publishing. 2016. 978-3-319-16648-3. Dhanak, MR. 1287. en-gb. 11. Highly Maneuverable Biorobotic Underwater Vehicles. 10.1007/978-3-319-16649-0. 133526257.
28. Web site: APS Member History. 2021-12-10. search.amphilsoc.org.
29. Web site: Neuroscience Institute Events.