Professor Stephen Williams
NHMRC Leadership Fellow
Queensland Brain Institute
+61 7 334 66352
Professor Stephen Williams: Synaptic integration in neural networks
Our aim is to understand how information is processed and computed by neuronal circuits, and relate this to the control of behaviour. We primarily study neuronal circuit operations in the neocortex and retina using state-of-the-art multi-site electrophysiological and optical recording techniques. We have discovered that active dendritic integration in the output neurons of the retina and neocortex underlies behaviourally engaged circuit-level computations. Our ongoing work at the single cell level determines how regenerative activity is generated in and spreads throughout the complex dendritic tree of neurons to control action potential output and, at the network level, the neuromodulatory control of neuronal circuit operations.
Researcher biography
Professor Stephen Williams joined the Queensland Brain Institute in 2010 to establish a laboratory studying synaptic integration in neuronal networks. He moved to QBI from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK where he was a tenured programme leader.
Book Chapters
Williams, Stephen R. (2010). Dendritic dynamic clamp – a tool to study single neuron computation. Dynamic-clamp : From principles to applications. (pp. 31-48) edited by Alain Destexhe and Thierry Bal. New York , NY, USA: Springer.
Etherington, Sarah J., Atkinson, Susan E., Stuart, Greg J. and Williams, Stephen R. (2010). Synaptic integration. Encyclopedia of life sciences. (pp. 1-12) Chichester, England, U.K.: Wiley Library. doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0000208.pub2
Journal Articles
Williams, Stephen R., Zhou, Xiangyu and Fletcher, Lee Norman (2023). Compartment-specific dendritic information processing in striatal cholinergic interneurons is reconfigured by peptide neuromodulation. Neuron, 1-22. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.03.038
Gooch, Helen M., Bluett, Tobias, Perumal, Madhusoothanan B., Vo, Hong D., Fletcher, Lee N., Papacostas, Jason, Jeffree, Rosalind L., Wood, Martin, Colditz, Michael J., McMillen, Jason, Tsahtsarlis, Tony, Amato, Damian, Campbell, Robert, Gillinder, Lisa and Williams, Stephen R. (2022). High-fidelity dendritic sodium spike generation in human layer 2/3 neocortical pyramidal neurons. Cell Reports, 41 (3) 111500, 1-18. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111500
Brombas, Arne, Zhou, Xiangyu and Williams, Stephen R. (2022). Light-evoked dendritic spikes in sustained but not transient rabbit retinal ganglion cells. Neuron, 110 (17), 2802-2814.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.06.009
Wong, Eunice, Anggono, Victor, Williams, Stephen R., Degnan, Sandie M. and Degnan, Bernard M. (2022). Phototransduction in a marine sponge provides insights into the origin of animal vision. iScience, 25 (6) 104436, 104436. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104436
Williams, Stephen R. and Fletcher, Lee N. (2019). A dendritic substrate for the cholinergic control of neocortical output neurons. Neuron, 101 (3), 486-499.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.11.035
Fletcher, Lee N. and Williams, Stephen R. (2019). Neocortical Topology Governs the Dendritic Integrative Capacity of Layer 5 Pyramidal Neurons. Neuron, 101 (1), 76-90.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.10.048
Cotel, Florence, Fletcher, Lee N., Kalita-de Croft, Simon, Apergis-Schoute, John and Williams, Stephen R. (2018). Cell class-dependent intracortical connectivity and output dynamics of layer 6 projection neurons of the rat primary visual cortex. Cerebral Cortex, 28 (7), 2340-2350. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhx134
Brombas, A., Kalita-de Croft, S., Cooper-Williams, E. J. and Williams, S. R. (2017). Dendro-dendritic cholinergic excitation controls dendritic spike initiation in retinal ganglion cells. Nature Communications, 8 (1) 15683, 15683. doi: 10.1038/ncomms15683
Sah, Pankaj, Fanselow, Michael, Hattie, John, Magsamen, Susan, Mattingley, Jason, Quirk, Gregory and Williams, Stephen (2016). Integrating neuroscience and learning: now’s the time. n p j Science of Learning, 1 (1) 16007, 16007. doi: 10.1038/npjscilearn.2016.7
Harnett, Mark T, Magee, Jeffrey C and Williams, Stephen R (2015). Distribution and function of HCN channels in the apical dendritic tuft of neocortical pyramidal neurons. Journal of Neuroscience, 35 (3), 1024-1037. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2813-14.2015
Brombas, Arne, Fletcher, Lee N. and Williams, Stephen R. (2014). Activity-dependent modulation of layer 1 inhibitory neocortical circuits by acetylcholine. Journal of Neuroscience, 34 (5), 1932-1941. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4470-13.2014
Chadderton, Paul, Schaefer, Andreas T., Williams, Stephen R. and Margrie, Troy W. (2014). Sensory-evoked synaptic integration in cerebellar and cerebral cortical neurons. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 15 (2), 71-83. doi: 10.1038/nrn3648
Williams, Stephen R. (2013). Synchrony and the single neuron. Nature Neuroscience, 16 (12), 1714-1715. doi: 10.1038/nn.3586
Sivyer, Benjamin and Williams, Stephen R. (2013). Direction selectivity is computed by active dendritic integration in retinal ganglion cells. Nature Neuroscience, 16 (12), 1848-1857. doi: 10.1038/nn.3565
Harnett, Mark T., Xu, Ning-Long, Magee, Jeffrey C. and Williams, Stephen R. (2013). Potassium channels control the interaction between active dendritic integration compartments in layer 5 cortical pyramidal neurons. Neuron, 79 (3), 516-529. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2013.06.005
Xu, Ning-long, Harnett, Mark T., Williams, Stephen R., Huber, Daniel, O'Connor, Daniel H., Svoboda, Karel and Magee, Jeffrey C. (2012). Nonlinear dendritic integration of sensory and motor input during an active sensing task. Nature, 492 (7428), 247-251. doi: 10.1038/nature11601
Etherington, Sarah J. and Williams, Stephen R. (2011). Postnatal development of intrinsic and synaptic properties transforms signaling in the layer 5 excitatory neural network of the visual cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 31 (26), 9526-9537. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0458-11.2011
Atkinson, Susan E., Maywood, Elizabeth S., Chesham, Johanna E., Wozny, Christian, Colwell, Christopher S., Hastings, Michael H. and Williams, Stephen R. (2011). Cyclic AMP signaling controls action potential firing rate and molecular circadian pacemaking in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Journal of Biological Rhythms, 26 (3), 210-220. doi: 10.1177/0748730411402810
Williams, Stephen R. and Wozny, Christian (2011). Errors in the measurement of voltage-activated ion channels in cell-attached patch-clamp recordings. Nature Communications, 2 (242) 242, 242-1-242-9. doi: 10.1038/ncomms1225
Wozny, Christian and Williams, Stephen R. (2011). Specificity of synaptic connectivity between layer 1 inhibitory interneurons and layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in the rat neocortex. Cerebral Cortex, 21 (8), 1818-1826. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhq257
Williams, Stephen R. and Wozny, Christian (2009). Neuroscience: The chain reaction of dendritic integration. Current Biology, 19 (20), R956-R957. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.08.031
Atkinson, Susan E. and Williams, Stephen R. (2009). Postnatal development of dendritic synaptic integration in rat neocortical pyramidal neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology, 102 (2), 735-751. doi: 10.1152/jn.00083.2009
Williams, Stephen R. and Atkinson, Susan E. (2008). Dendritic synaptic integration in central neurons. Current Biology, 18 (22), R1045-R1047. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.08.060
Penn, Andrew C., Williams, Stephen R . and Greger, Ingo H. (2008). Gating motions underlie AMPA receptor secretion from the endoplasmic reticulum. EMBO Journal, 27 (22), 3056-3068. doi: 10.1038/emboj.2008.222
Williams, Stephen R. and Mitchell, Simon J. (2008). Direct measurement of somatic voltage clamp errors in central neurons. Nature Neuroscience, 11 (7), 790-798. doi: 10.1038/nn.2137
Kole, Maarten H. P ., Ilschner, Susanne U., Kampa, Bjorn M., Williams, Stephen R., Ruben, Peter C. and Stuart, Greg J. (2008). Action potential generation requires a high sodium channel density in the axon initial segment. Nature Neuroscience, 11 (2), 178-186. doi: 10.1038/nn2040
Williams, Stephen R., Wozny, Christian and Mitchell, Simon J. (2007). The back and forth of dendritic plasticity. Neuron, 56 (6), 947-953. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2007.12.004
Williams, Stephen R. and Atkinson, Susan E. (2007). Pathway-specific use-dependent dynamics of excitatory synaptic transmission in rat intracortical circuits. The Journal of Physiology, 585 (3), 759-777. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2007.138453
Gentet, Luc J. and Williams, Stephen R. (2007). Dopamine gates action potential backpropagation in midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Journal of Neuroscience, 27 (8), 1892-1901. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5234-06.2007
Williams, Stephen R. (2005). Encoding and decoding of dendritic excitation during active states in pyramidal neurons. Journal of Neuroscience, 25 (25), 5894-5902. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0502-05.2005
Williams, Stephen R. (2004). Spatial compartmentalization and functional impact of conductance in pyramidal neurons. Nature Neuroscience, 7 (9), 961-967. doi: 10.1038/nn1305
Williams, Stephen R. and Stuart, Greg J. (2003). Role of dendritic synapse location in the control of action potential output. Trends in Neurosciences, 26 (3), 147-154. doi: 10.1016/S0166-2236(03)00035-3
Williams, Stephen R., Christensen, Soren R., Stuart, Greg J. and Hausser, Michael (2002). Membrane potential bistability is controlled by the hyperpolarization-activated current I(H) in rat cerebellar Purkinje neurons in vitro. The Journal of Physiology, 539 (2), 469-483. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2001.013136
Williams, Stephen R. and Stuart, Greg J. (2002). Dependence of EPSP efficacy on synapse location in neocortical pyramidal neurons. Science, 295 (5561), 1907-1910. doi: 10.1126/science.1067903
Williams, S. R. and Stuart, G. J. (2000). Backpropagation of physiological spike trains in neocortical pyramidal neurons: Implications for temporal coding in dendrites. The Journal of Neuroscience, 20 (22), 8238-8246.
Williams, Stephen R. and Stuart, Greg J. (2000). Site independence of EPSP time course is mediated by dendritic I(h) in neocortical pyramidal neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology, 83 (5), 3177-3182. doi: 10.1152/jn.2000.83.5.3177
Williams, Stephen R. and Stuart, Greg J. (2000). Action potential backpropagation and somato-dendritic distribution of ion channels in thalamocortical neurons. Journal of Neuroscience, 20 (4), 1307-1317.
Williams, Stephen R. and Stuart, Greg J. (1999). Mechanisms and consequences of action potential burst firing in raf neocortical pyramidal neurons. The Journal of Physiology, 521 (2), 467-482. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7793.1999.00467.x
Hughes, Stuart W., Cope, David W., Toth, Tibor I., Williams, Stephen R. and Crunelli, Vincenzo (1999). All thalamocortical neurones possess a T-type Ca2+ 'window' current that enables the expression of bistability-mediated activities. The Journal of Physiology, 517 (3), 805-815. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7793.1999.0805s.x
Williams, Stephen R., Buhl, Eberhard H. and Mody, Istvan (1998). The dynamics of synchronized neurotransmitter release determined from compound spontaneous IPSCs in rat dentate granule neurones in vitro. The Journal of Physiology, 510 (2), 477-497. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7793.1998.477bk.x
Leresche, Nathalie, Parri, H. Rheinallt, Erdemli, Gül, Guyon, Alice, Turner, Jonathan P., Williams, Stephen R., Asprodini, Eftihia and Crunelli, Vincenzo (1998). On the action of the anti-absence drug ethosuximide in the rat and cat thalamus. Journal of Neuroscience, 18 (13), 4842-4853.
Williams, Stephen R., Turner, Jonathan P., Hughes, Stuart W. and Crunelli, Vincenzo (1997). On the nature of anomalous rectification in thalamocortical neurones of the cat ventrobasal thalamus in vitro. Journal of Physiology-London, 505 (3), 727-747. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7793.1997.727ba.x
Turner, Jonathan P., Anderson, Caroline M., Williams, Stephen R. and Crunelli, Vincenzo (1997). Morphology and membrane properties of neurones in the cat ventrobasal thalamus in vitro. Journal of Physiology-London, 505 (3), 707-726. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7793.1997.707ba.x
Williams, Stephen R., Toth, Tibor I., Turner, Jonathan P., Hughes, Stuart W. and Crunelli, Vincenzo (1997). The 'window' component of the low threshold Ca2+ current produces input signal amplification and bistability in cat and rat thalamocortical neurones. Journal of Physiology, 505 (3), 689-705. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7793.1997.689ba.x
Pirchio, M., Turner, J.P., Williams, S.R., Asprodini, E. and Crunelli, V. (1997). Postnatal development of membrane properties and delta oscillations in thalamocortical neurons of the cat dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. Journal of Neuroscience, 17 (14), 5428-5444. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-14-05428.1997
Poisbeau, Pierrick, Williams, Stephen R. and Mody, Istvan (1997). Silent GABA(A) synapses during flurazepam withdrawal are region-specific in the hippocampal formation. Journal of Neuroscience, 17 (10), 3467-3475. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-10-03467.1997
Williams, Stephen R., Turner, Jonathan P., Anderson, Caroline M. and Crunelli, Vincenzo (1996). Electrophysiological and morphological properties of interneurones in the rat dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus in vitro. Journal of Physiology-London, 490 (1), 129-147. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1996.sp021131
Williams, S. R., Turner, J. P. and Crunelli, V. (1995). Gamma-hydroxybutyrate promotes oscillatory activity of rat and cat thalamocortical neurons by a tonic GABAb receptor-mediated hyperpolarization. Neuroscience, 66 (1), 133-141. doi: 10.1016/0306-4522(94)00604-4
Conference Papers
Malins, Alex, Williams, Stephen R., Eggers, Jens, Tanaka, Hajime and Royall, C. Patrick (2011). The effect of inter-cluster interactions on the structure of colloidal clusters. 6th International Discussion Meeting on Relaxation in Complex Systems, Rome, Italy, 30 August-5 September 2009. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2010.08.021
Crunelli, Vincenzo, Blethyn, Kate L., Cope, David W., Hughes, Stuart W., Parri, H. Rheinallt, Turner, Jonathan P., Toth, Tibor I. and Williams, Stephen R. (2002). Novel neuronal and astrocytic mechanisms in thalamocortical loop dynamics. Discussion Meeting on the Essential Role of the Thalamus in Cortical Functioning, London, United Kingdom, 15-16 May 2002. London, United Kingdom: The Royal Society Publishing. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2002.1155