Excitatory
GABA lecture
Q-1:
Original Q&A
Tanya,
I happened to listen to a lecture given by Dr. Ben-Ari in Stockholm. His replies to questions concerning works, one of which you are a co-author, puzzled me. I went to your site following the link at your allexperts profile and read quite attentively. What I failed to understand, how it was possible to show (instead of scientific discussion) a title of an article only in preparation to publication, having somewhat around 20 authors including some Rheims, who is the first author of the article challenging the excitatory GABA theory?!
Sorry if I'm rumoring here but they teach us in our institutes that GABA is excitatory in the neonates, should we still believe it?
I found your article well done and I found no scientific (just politics) proof against it in Dr. Ben-Ari's answer, in fact, many of us were shocked. Could you comment please? Hope I am not putting you in any awkward position.
Ingrid
A: Dear Ingrid,
I am aware of the event in the Karolinska. To avoid making it rumors, let me explain that until the article you've mentioned is published, there's no responsible ways to discuss it. Better yet, rely on for other labs' results and such results are listed in the article Studies of GABA action: in vivo, in toto, and in vitro.
As to S. Rheims, we are informed that Dr. Ben-Ari filed a complaint containing accusations in falsification of experimental data received by S.Rheims in the process of his PhD thesis project supervised by Y. Zilberter and officially examined by Dr. Ben-Ari. One can only draw the conclusions.
Tanya Zilberter
PS. 1. More information can be found here: Excitatory GABA Category at brainfuels.com
Q-2:
Original
Q&A
I've chosen a wrong option to ask you a followup question on
2010-06-17. Here's what I wanted to ask:
Dear Tanya, thank you for your
straight-forward answer. My friends read
it and said I didn't make myself clear about what Dr Ben-Ari showed,
what article, and what he said. Your answer somewhat corrected my
sluggish formulation but I'd like to make it all clear for other
readers.
The lecture of Dr. Ben-Ari was
generally about excitatory GABA. The
questions from the audience were about articles showing that ketone
bodies and other energy substrates were able to reverse GABA-action
making it as inhibitory as it is in the mature brain. The questioners
asked for comments and instead Dr. Ben-Ari showed a slice with a
manuscript title stating that energy substrates do not influence
GABA action and names of 20 or 21 authors. He commented by a story
about Dr. Zilberter betraying his trust and publishing the articles
without his knowledge. How about him being S.Rheim' PhD thesis examiner
in 2008?
Now, the fact that S. Rheims
simultaneously in two different articles
made two opposite statements - what fate has his dissertation? Is he
refusing it? It's all crazy and unbelievable.
A-2:
Ingrid,
This I just don't know. I am not aware of S. Rheims' intentions and
options for that matter. I do know that his supervisor is not going to
harm Rheims in any way, but it seems that the situation is now out of
Dr. Y. Zilberter hands. Regarding betraying Dr. Ben-Ari's trust, I
cannot explain this statement. The fact is, Dr. Ben-Ari participated in
the project starting 2007 and has been a co-author of the first
articles (not accepted); the results were repeatedly reported to the
institute's audience, at least 6 times during last couple of years and
are, as I commented before, included in successfully defended PhD
thesis in 2008 Dr. Ben-Ari being one of the examiners.
Regards,
Tanya Zilberter
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