Scanziani, Massimo. Ph.D.

Professor, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, UCSF School of Medicine

Ph.D. in Neurophysiology, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
B.S. in Biochemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

Scanziani Lab

Massimo Scanziani's research seeks to understand the structure and function of neuronal circuits in the mammalian cortex and how they contribute to processing sensory information. Towards this goal the lab uses cutting edge electrophysiological, imaging, optogenetic and anatomical techniques. The work performed in the lab spans from in vitro analysis of biophysical properties of single neurons to in vivo recordings from neuronal populations during sensory stimulation in awake, behaving animals. Through this research program the role of each individual element of a neuronal circuit in sensory processing can be understood and can bridge the gap between cellular and system neuroscience.

Featured Publications: 

Reinhold K, Lien AD, Scanziani M

Distinct Recurrent Versus Afferent Dynamics in Cortical Visual Processing

Nature Neurosci.  2015 18: 1789–1797

 

Xue M, Atallah VB, Scanziani M

Equalizing Excitation-Inhibition Ratios Across Visual Cortical Neurons

Nature 2014, 511: 596-600

 

Bortone D, Olsen SR, Scanziani M

Translaminar Inhibitory Cells Recruited by Layer 6 Cortico‐Thalamic Neurons Suppress Visual Cortex

Neuron 2014, 82: 474-485

 

Lien AD, Scanziani, M

Tuned thalamic excitation is amplified by visual cortical circuits.

Nature Neurosci. 2013, 16: 1315-1323

 

Pfeffer, C. K., Xue, M., He, M., Huang, Z. J., Scanziani, M.

Inhibition of inhibition in visual cortex: the logic of connections between molecularly distinct interneurons.

Nature Neurosci. 2013, 16: 1068-1076

 

Adesnik H, Bruns W, Taniguchi H, Huang ZJ, Scanziani, M

A neural circuit for spatial summation in visual cortex.  

Nature, 2012, 490: 227-231 (full article).

 

Olsen SR, Bortone D, Adesnik H,

Gain control by layer six in cortical circuits of vision.

Nature 2012, 483: 47-52 (full article).

 

Atallah BV, Bruns W, Carandini M, Scanziani, M.

Parvalbumin expressing interneurons linearly transform cortical responses to visual stimuli.

Neuron 2012 73; 159 - 170

 

Isaacson JS, Scanziani M.

How inhibition shapes cortical activity

Neuron 2011; 72: 231-243.

 

Bagnall MW, Hull C, Bushong EA, Ellisman MH,

Multiple clusters of release sites formed by individual thalamic afferents onto cortical interneurons ensure reliable transmission.

Neuron 2011 71:180-194.

 

Adesnik H, Scanziani, M.

Lateral competition for cortical space through layer specific horizontal circuits.

Nature 2010, 464: 1155-1160 (full article).

 

Scanziani M, Hausser M.

Electrophysiology in the age of light,

Nature 2009 461: 930-939.

 

Pouille F, Marin-Burgin A, Adesnik H, Atallah BV, Scanziani M.

Input normalization by global feed-forward inhibition expands cortical dynamic range.

Nature Neurosci 2009 12: 1577-1585.

 

Atallah BV, Scanziani M.

Instantaneous modulation of gamma oscillation frequency by balancing excitation with inhibition.

Neuron 2009 62:566-77.

 

Glickfeld LL, Roberts JD, Somogyi P, Scanziani M.

Interneurons hyperpolarize pyramidal cells along their entire somatodendritic axis.

Nature Neurosci 2009, 12: 21-23.

 

Kapfer C, Glickfeld LL, Atallah BV,

Supralinear Increase of Recurrent Inhibition during Sparse Activity in the Somatosensory Cortex.

Nature Neurosci 2007, 10: 743 – 53.

 

Gabernet L, Jadhav SP, Feldman DE, Carandini M, Scanziani M.

Somatosensory integration controlled by dynamic thalamocortical feed-forward inhibition.

Neuron 2005, 48:315-27.

 

Pouille F, Scanziani M. 

Routing of spike series by dynamic circuits in the hippocampus.

Nature 2004, 429:717-23 (full article).

 

Pouille F, Scanziani M.

Enforcement of temporal fidelity in pyramidal cells by somatic feed-forward inhibition.

Science 2001, 293:1159-1163.

  1. Learning speed and detection sensitivity controlled by distinct cortico-fugal neurons in visual cortex. Elife. 2020 Dec 07; 9. Ruediger S, Scanziani M. PMID: 33284107.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  2. A Disinhibitory Circuit for Contextual Modulation in Primary Visual Cortex. Neuron. 2020 Dec 03. Keller AJ, Dipoppa M, Roth MM, Caudill MS, Ingrosso A, Miller KD, Scanziani M. PMID: 33301712.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  3. Head Movements Control the Activity of Primary Visual Cortex in a Luminance-Dependent Manner. Neuron. 2020 11 11; 108(3):500-511.e5. Bouvier G, Senzai Y, Scanziani M. PMID: 32783882.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  4. Feedback generates a second receptive field in neurons of the visual cortex. Nature. 2020 06; 582(7813):545-549. Keller AJ, Roth MM, Scanziani M. PMID: 32499655.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  5. Multicolor Polymeric Nanoparticle Neuronal Tracers. ACS Cent Sci. 2020 Mar 25; 6(3):436-445. Zang N, Issa JB, Ditri TB, Bortone DS, Touve MA, Rush AM, Scanziani M, Dombeck DA, Gianneschi NC. PMID: 32232144.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions:
  6. Reorganization of Recurrent Layer 5 Corticospinal Networks Following Adult Motor Training. J Neurosci. 2019 06 12; 39(24):4684-4693. Biane JS, Takashima Y, Scanziani M, Conner JM, Tuszynski MH. PMID: 30948479.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  7. A collicular visual cortex: Neocortical space for an ancient midbrain visual structure. Science. 2019 01 04; 363(6422):64-69. Beltramo R, Scanziani M. PMID: 30606842.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 16     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  8. Visual physiology of the layer 4 cortical circuit in silico. PLoS Comput Biol. 2018 11; 14(11):e1006535. Arkhipov A, Gouwens NW, Billeh YN, Gratiy S, Iyer R, Wei Z, Xu Z, Abbasi-Asl R, Berg J, Buice M, Cain N, da Costa N, de Vries S, Denman D, Durand S, Feng D, Jarsky T, Lecoq J, Lee B, Li L, Mihalas S, Ocker GK, Olsen SR, Reid RC, Soler-Llavina G, Sorensen SA, Wang Q, Waters J, Scanziani M, Koch C. PMID: 30419013.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 7     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  9. Publisher Correction: Tuned thalamic excitation is amplified by visual cortical circuits. Nat Neurosci. 2018 Sep; 21(9):1292. Lien AD, Scanziani M. PMID: 30013170.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
  10. Cortical direction selectivity emerges at convergence of thalamic synapses. Nature. 2018 06; 558(7708):80-86. Lien AD, Scanziani M. PMID: 29795349.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 15     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  11. First spikes in visual cortex enable perceptual discrimination. Elife. 2018 04 16; 7. Resulaj A, Ruediger S, Olsen SR, Scanziani M. PMID: 29659352.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 10     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  12. Cortico-fugal output from visual cortex promotes plasticity of innate motor behaviour. Nature. 2016 Oct 20; 538(7625):383-387. Liu BH, Huberman AD, Scanziani M. PMID: 27732573.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 13     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  13. Thalamocortical Projections onto Behaviorally Relevant Neurons Exhibit Plasticity during Adult Motor Learning. Neuron. 2016 Mar 16; 89(6):1173-1179. Biane JS, Takashima Y, Scanziani M, Conner JM, Tuszynski MH. PMID: 26948893.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 12     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  14. Distinct recurrent versus afferent dynamics in cortical visual processing. Nat Neurosci. 2015 Dec; 18(12):1789-97. Reinhold K, Lien AD, Scanziani M. PMID: 26502263.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 42     Fields:    Translation:Animals
  15. An improved chloride-conducting channelrhodopsin for light-induced inhibition of neuronal activity in vivo. Sci Rep. 2015 10 07; 5:14807. Wietek J, Beltramo R, Scanziani M, Hegemann P, Oertner TG, Wiegert JS. PMID: 26443033.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 29     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
  16. Motor cortex maturation is associated with reductions in recurrent connectivity among functional subpopulations and increases in intrinsic excitability. J Neurosci. 2015 Mar 18; 35(11):4719-28. Biane JS, Scanziani M, Tuszynski MH, Conner JM. PMID: 25788688.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 9     Fields:    Translation:Animals
  17. Equalizing excitation-inhibition ratios across visual cortical neurons. Nature. 2014 Jul 31; 511(7511):596-600. Xue M, Atallah BV, Scanziani M. PMID: 25043046.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 178     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
  18. Atallah et al. reply. Nature. 2014 Apr 03; 508(7494):E3. Atallah BV, Scanziani M, Carandini M. PMID: 24695314.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 12     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  19. Translaminar inhibitory cells recruited by layer 6 corticothalamic neurons suppress visual cortex. Neuron. 2014 Apr 16; 82(2):474-85. Bortone DS, Olsen SR, Scanziani M. PMID: 24656931.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 83     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  20. The contribution of synaptic location to inhibitory gain control in pyramidal cells. Physiol Rep. 2013 Oct; 1(5):e00067. Pouille F, Watkinson O, Scanziani M, Trevelyan AJ. PMID: 24303159.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 23     Fields:    
  21. Tuned thalamic excitation is amplified by visual cortical circuits. Nat Neurosci. 2013 Sep; 16(9):1315-23. Lien AD, Scanziani M. PMID: 23933748.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 107     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  22. Inhibition of inhibition in visual cortex: the logic of connections between molecularly distinct interneurons. Nat Neurosci. 2013 Aug; 16(8):1068-76. Pfeffer CK, Xue M, He M, Huang ZJ, Scanziani M. PMID: 23817549.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 374     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  23. New insights into the classification and nomenclature of cortical GABAergic interneurons. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2013 03; 14(3):202-16. DeFelipe J, López-Cruz PL, Benavides-Piccione R, Bielza C, Larrañaga P, Anderson S, Burkhalter A, Cauli B, Fairén A, Feldmeyer D, Fishell G, Fitzpatrick D, Freund TF, González-Burgos G, Hestrin S, Hill S, Hof PR, Huang J, Jones EG, Kawaguchi Y, Kisvárday Z, Kubota Y, Lewis DA, Marín O, Markram H, McBain CJ, Meyer HS, Monyer H, Nelson SB, Rockland K, Rossier J, Rubenstein JL, Rudy B, Scanziani M, Shepherd GM, Sherwood CC, Staiger JF, Tamás G, Thomson A, Wang Y, Yuste R, Ascoli GA. PMID: 23385869.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 258     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
  24. A neural circuit for spatial summation in visual cortex. Nature. 2012 Oct 11; 490(7419):226-31. Adesnik H, Bruns W, Taniguchi H, Huang ZJ, Scanziani M. PMID: 23060193.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 214     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  25. The information content of physiological and epileptic brain activity. J Physiol. 2013 Feb 15; 591(4):799-805. Trevelyan AJ, Bruns W, Mann EO, Crepel V, Scanziani M. PMID: 23027823.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 10     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
  26. Gain control by layer six in cortical circuits of vision. Nature. 2012 Feb 22; 483(7387):47-52. Olsen SR, Bortone DS, Adesnik H, Scanziani M. PMID: 22367547.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 180     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  27. Parvalbumin-expressing interneurons linearly transform cortical responses to visual stimuli. Neuron. 2012 Jan 12; 73(1):159-70. Atallah BV, Bruns W, Carandini M, Scanziani M. PMID: 22243754.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 205     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  28. In vivo Labeling of Constellations of Functionally Identified Neurons for Targeted in vitro Recordings. Front Neural Circuits. 2011; 5:16. Lien AD, Scanziani M. PMID: 22144948.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 8     Fields:    
  29. How inhibition shapes cortical activity. Neuron. 2011 Oct 20; 72(2):231-43. Isaacson JS, Scanziani M. PMID: 22017986.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 463     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  30. Multiple clusters of release sites formed by individual thalamic afferents onto cortical interneurons ensure reliable transmission. Neuron. 2011 Jul 14; 71(1):180-94. Bagnall MW, Hull C, Bushong EA, Ellisman MH, Scanziani M. PMID: 21745647.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 31     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  31. Linking neuronal ensembles by associative synaptic plasticity. PLoS One. 2011; 6(6):e20486. Yuan Q, Isaacson JS, Scanziani M. PMID: 21738576.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  32. Pyramidal cells in piriform cortex receive convergent input from distinct olfactory bulb glomeruli. J Neurosci. 2010 Oct 20; 30(42):14255-60. Apicella A, Yuan Q, Scanziani M, Isaacson JS. PMID: 20962246.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 31     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  33. Lateral competition for cortical space by layer-specific horizontal circuits. Nature. 2010 Apr 22; 464(7292):1155-60. Adesnik H, Scanziani M. PMID: 20414303.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 139     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  34. Input normalization by global feedforward inhibition expands cortical dynamic range. Nat Neurosci. 2009 Dec; 12(12):1577-85. Pouille F, Marin-Burgin A, Adesnik H, Atallah BV, Scanziani M. PMID: 19881502.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 122     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  35. Electrophysiology in the age of light. Nature. 2009 Oct 15; 461(7266):930-9. Scanziani M, Häusser M. PMID: 19829373.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 120     Fields:    Translation:Animals
  36. Neocortical disynaptic inhibition requires somatodendritic integration in interneurons. J Neurosci. 2009 Jul 15; 29(28):8991-5. Hull C, Adesnik H, Scanziani M. PMID: 19605636.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 15     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  37. Postsynaptic mechanisms govern the differential excitation of cortical neurons by thalamic inputs. J Neurosci. 2009 Jul 15; 29(28):9127-36. Hull C, Isaacson JS, Scanziani M. PMID: 19605650.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 67     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  38. Instantaneous modulation of gamma oscillation frequency by balancing excitation with inhibition. Neuron. 2009 May 28; 62(4):566-77. Atallah BV, Scanziani M. PMID: 19477157.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 188     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  39. Interneurons hyperpolarize pyramidal cells along their entire somatodendritic axis. Nat Neurosci. 2009 Jan; 12(1):21-3. Glickfeld LL, Roberts JD, Somogyi P, Scanziani M. PMID: 19029887.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 113     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  40. Complementary modulation of somatic inhibition by opioids and cannabinoids. J Neurosci. 2008 Feb 20; 28(8):1824-32. Glickfeld LL, Atallah BV, Scanziani M. PMID: 18287499.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 34     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  41. Erratum: Corrigendum: Supralinear increase of recurrent inhibition during sparse activity in the somatosensory cortex. Nature Neuroscience. 2007 Aug 1; 10(8):1073-1073. Christoph Kapfer, Lindsey L Glickfield, Bassam V Atallah, Massimo Scanziani. .
    View in: Publisher Site   Mentions:
  42. Supralinear increase of recurrent inhibition during sparse activity in the somatosensory cortex. Nat Neurosci. 2007 Jun; 10(6):743-53. Kapfer C, Glickfeld LL, Atallah BV, Scanziani M. PMID: 17515899.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 182     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  43. It's about time for thalamocortical circuits. Nat Neurosci. 2007 Apr; 10(4):400-2. Hull C, Scanziani M. PMID: 17387326.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 14     Fields:    Translation:Animals
  44. Distinct timing in the activity of cannabinoid-sensitive and cannabinoid-insensitive basket cells. Nat Neurosci. 2006 Jun; 9(6):807-15. Glickfeld LL, Scanziani M. PMID: 16648849.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 112     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  45. Somatosensory integration controlled by dynamic thalamocortical feed-forward inhibition. Neuron. 2005 Oct 20; 48(2):315-27. Gabernet L, Jadhav SP, Feldman DE, Carandini M, Scanziani M. PMID: 16242411.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 267     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  46. Self-administering cannabinoids. Trends Neurosci. 2005 Jul; 28(7):341-3. Glickfeld LL, Scanziani M. PMID: 15979498.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  47. A precritical period for plasticity in visual cortex. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2005 Feb; 15(1):94-100. Feller MB, Scanziani M. PMID: 15721750.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 30     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
  48. Routing of spike series by dynamic circuits in the hippocampus. Nature. 2004 Jun 17; 429(6993):717-23. Pouille F, Scanziani M. PMID: 15170216.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 168     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  49. Competing on the edge. Trends Neurosci. 2002 Jun; 25(6):282-3. Scanziani M. PMID: 12086738.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  50. Erratum: Cooperation between independent hippocampal synapses is controlled by glutamate uptake. Nature Neuroscience. 2002 May 1; 5(5):500-500. Nina Arnth-Jensen, Denis Jabaudon, Massimo Scanziani. .
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  51. Cooperation between independent hippocampal synapses is controlled by glutamate uptake. Nat Neurosci. 2002 Apr; 5(4):325-31. Arnth-Jensen N, Jabaudon D, Scanziani M. PMID: 11896395.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 89     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
  52. Functional characterization and modulation of feedback inhibitory circuits in area CA3 of hippocampal slice cultures. Journal of Physiology-Paris. 1996 Jan 1; 90(5-6):412. C Fortunato, D Debanne, M Scanziani, B.H. Gähwiler, SM Thompson. .
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  53. Reply. Trends in Neurosciences. 1993 Oct 1; 16(10):396-397. Scott M. Thompson, Mario Capogna, Massimo Scanziani. .
    View in: Publisher Site   Mentions:

Massimo Scanziani earned his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology before pursuing a PhD in Neurophysiology from the University of Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He completed subsequent postdoctoral research at UCSF and Ecole Superieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles in Paris. Prior to becoming a Professor at UCSF, Dr. Scanziani was a Professor for University of California San Diego and the Brain Research Institute at the University of Zurich.

 

Dr. Scanziani holds a number of awards including but not limited to a Betty and David Koetser Foundation for Brain Research Award, a NARSAD Distinguished Investigator, as well as being a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator since 2008.

Sarah Ruediger Lee – postdoc

Arbora Resulaj – postdoc

Pei Sabrina Xu – postdoc

Satoru Miura – postdoc

Riccardo Beltramo – postdoc

Xing Wei – postdoc

Andreas Keller – postdoc

Guy Bouvier – postdoc

Jun Lee – lab manager

Baohua Liu – postdoc

Carsten Pfeffer – postdoc

Matthew Caudill – postdoc