Posted on | CategoriesNeurobiology | PI: Andres Villu Maricq, MD, PhD

Illuminating the Mechanisms Behind Neuronal “Learning”

The strength of each of the thousands of synapses in a given neuron can be rapidly and independently modified in response to experience. What scientists do not yet understand is how distinct synapses distributed along neuronal processes—branches of a neuron which can project far from the cell body—are supplied with the appropriate type and number of neurotransmitter receptors. Continue reading → Illuminating the Mechanisms Behind Neuronal “Learning”
Posted on | CategoriesNeurobiology | PI: Christopher T. Gregg, PhD

Opposite-Sex Parent’s Genetic Impact on Health and Behavior

Parenting is not the only way moms and dads impact the behavior of their offspring. Genes matter, too. Most of our genes are inherited in pairs—one copy from each parent. However, according to new research from the lab of University of Utah Health researcher Christopher Gregg, PhD, each parent has their own genetic impact on hormones and neurotransmitters that control mood and behavior. Continue reading → Opposite-Sex Parent’s Genetic Impact on Health and Behavior
Posted on | CategoriesNeurobiology / Neuroscience | PI: Sungjin Park, PhD

Architecture of the Inner Ear

Normal hearing is dependent upon a highly specialized structure in the inner ear called the tectorial membrane. How this precisely organized extracellular matrix is assembled had been unknown. However, Park and colleagues showed the inner ear membrane anchors to the cell surface during development and grows one layer at a time. Continue reading → Architecture of the Inner Ear
Posted on | CategoriesHealth and Disease / Neurobiology | PI: H. Joseph Yost, PhD

Signaling Pathways That Underlie Heart Disease

Diseases affecting heart function exact an enormous toll on human health, but many of the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying heart disease remain unknown. Yost and colleagues discovered novel roles for the same developmental signaling pathway in two seemingly unrelated sources of cardiac dysfunction: adult heart failure and embryonic heart malformation. Continue reading → Signaling Pathways That Underlie Heart Disease
Posted on | CategoriesNeurobiology / Neuroscience | PI: Adam Douglass, PhD

Neuronal Circuits that Modulate Pain and Defensive Responses

Understanding pain-processing mechanisms and the neural circuits involved is central to developing new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of pain. The Douglass lab investigated brain regions that modulate behavioral responses to noxious stimuli in zebrafish. Continue reading → Neuronal Circuits that Modulate Pain and Defensive Responses