ALS: Lou Gehrig’s Disease by Gordon Shepherd

2011
Gordon Shepherd, M.D., Ph.D.

Cortical mechanisms in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
2011 Seed Grant
Gordon Shepherd, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Physiology
Northwestern University

The neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a fatal paralytic disorder characterized by cell death of corticospinal neurons. Early in the disease process cortical circuits are hyperexcitable, but specific mechanisms have not been identified. High-resolution imaging and electrophysiological analysis of specific microcircuits of corticospinal neurons will reveal, for the first time, how these neurons are ‘mis-wired’ in ALS, with high potential for identifying new cellular/molecular targets for therapeutic interventions.

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Other Grants

Brain Research Foundation
Rebekah C. Evans, Ph.D., Georgetown University
In Vivo and Ex Vivo Dissection of Midbrain Neuron Activity During Exercise
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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
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