Brain Development: Understanding Neuron Migration

2010
Jaime García-Añoveros, Ph.D.

The cortex of the brain has a specific arrangement of specific types of neurons that is essential for its advanced functions. The first cells of cortex produced in the embryo, the Cajal-Retzius cells, migrate on the surface of the brain and from there orchestrate the positioning of the rest of the cortical neurons. We have identified a gene expressed by Cajal-Retzius cells and hypothesize that it is essential for their migration and function, and hence for proper formation of the cortex. We have generated mice lacking this gene and will examine them to test these and other hypotheses.

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Brain Research Foundation
Rebekah C. Evans, Ph.D., Georgetown University
In Vivo and Ex Vivo Dissection of Midbrain Neuron Activity During Exercise
Exercise is important for the health of the body and the mind. Exercise promotes learning and reduces symptoms of brain-related diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. However, it…
Brain Research Foundation
William J. Giardino, Ph.D. Stanford University
Deciphering the Neuropeptide Circuitry of Emotional Arousal in Narcolepsy
This research project aims to investigate the neural mechanisms of a specific type of brain cell called neuropeptide neurons within a region of the brain’s amygdala network called the bed…
Brain Research Foundation
Howard Gritton, Ph.D., University of Illinois
Attention Mechanisms Contributing to Auditory Spatial Processing.
Our world is composed of a rich mixture of sounds. We often process sounds including speech in the presence of many other competing auditory stimuli (e.g., voices in a crowded…
Brain Research Foundation
Nora Kory, Ph.D., Harvard University
Elucidating the Fates and Functions of Lactate in the Brain
The human brain requires significant energy to function. Despite accounting for only 2% of our body weight, the brain consumes a substantial 20% of the body’s energy, relying on a…