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 Mammalian Brain Development
Bin Chen , Dept. MCD Biology
Proper generation of different neuronal subtypes in the cerebral cortex and their precise wiring into functional neural circuits underlie our most sophisticated cognitive and perceptual abilities. When this process goes awry, neurological disorders, such as schizophrenia, depression, and obsessive compulsive behavior, can arise. Research in the Chen laboratory is focused on the molecular mechanisms that regulate the neural stem cells to generate different types of neurons and determining how they are wired into functional neural circuits. Neurons in the cerebral cortex are organized into 6 layers. Within each layer, neurons ..... [More] |
The Generation of Neural Connections
David Feldheim, Dept. of MCD Biology
The mammalian brain contains billions of neurons that make even more billions of synaptic connections. These connections allow us to perceive the outside world, and are the framework for higher cognitive functions, such as learning, memory, thought and emotion. In addition, perturbations in patterns of synaptic connections underlie psychiatric, neurological and developmental disorders in humans. The Feldheim lab is interested in understanding how neural connections are generated during development. They find that both genes (nature) and neural activity (nurture) are used to form these connections during development. [More]
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 Organelle Transport and Neurodegeneration
Bill Saxton, Dept. MCD Biology
The Saxton lab studies mechanisms that drive intracellular transport and cytoplasmic organization, using Drosophila as a model organism. To generate and maintain proper cytoplasmic order and thus their complex functions, cells use microtubules and force-generating motor proteins to transport RNAs, proteins, mitochondria and other organelles to appropriate locations. Neurons are especially dependent on such microtubule-based cytoplasmic transport, because their signaling functions rely on extraordinarily long cytoplasmic extensions (axons and dendrites) that require import of many components from their cell bodies ..... [More] |
 Glia-neuron Interaction and Structural Plasticity of the Synapse
Yi Zuo, Dept. of MCD Biology
Neurons communicate with each other at a specialized structure
called the synapse. The Zuo lab focuses on how the interactions of two
types of cells - glia and neurons - affect synapse formation and plasticity.
Zuo's studies are providing insight into the involvement of glia in
learning and memory. Furthermore, because glial malfunctions are
characteristic of many neurodegenerative diseases, her lab's results may
also point us in the direction of potential treatments for neurological
diseases.( [More]
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 Remarkable Protein Structures... and Where They Go Wrong in Disease
Glenn Millhauser, Department of Chemistry
In modern biochemistry, structural determination is essential for understanding the function of biomolecules. Scientists in Glenn Millhauser's laboratory use peptide synthesis, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), and electron paramagnetic spin resonance spectroscopy (EPR) to examine the structure and analyze the function of proteins that have been implicated in several debilitating diseases. This includes the prion protein, which is responsible for mad cow disease and the related human affliction, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. They have also examined a novel signaling molecule, called AGRP, which is involved in energy balance and metabolic pathologies, such as diabetes and obesity. [More]
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 Organismal Responses and Therapeutic Treatment of Toxins
Don Smith, Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology
It is becoming clear that exposures to environmental toxins, such as lead, mercury, and arsenic can cause or contribute to the development of diseases in humans. For example, some neurobehavioral and neurodegenerative disorders, such as learning deficits and Parkinsonism have been linked to elevated lead and manganese exposures in children and manganese exposures in adults, respectively. The Smith lab explores basic mechanisms underlying how toxic metal exposures contributes to cellular effects and disease. [More]
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 A High Energy Physicist Turns His Attention to Neurobiology
Alan Litke, Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics
Alan Litke is physicist who is also interested in neurobiology. Several years ago, Litke began to utilize principles from his research on detection of particles in high-energy-physics collisions in order to develop electrode arrays that can be used to detect signals from the individual output neurons of live retinal tissue. Litke and neurobiologist E. J. Chichilnisky from the Salk Institute used this technology to discover a type of retinal cell that may help monkeys, apes, and humans see motion. Litke also collaborates with UCSC Professor David Feldheim and has recently begun using these detectors to investigate emergent properties in networks of hundreds of synaptically connected cortical neurons. [More] |
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