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Many genetic factors or environmental exposures impact the immature brain in childhood or early adolescence, but cause psychiatric disease only at much later periods in life. These molecular mechanisms include changes in gene expression and genome function. To date, however, it is not possible to...

Dr. Biederer’s work focuses on how nerve cells in the brain communicate with each other through cellular connections called synapses. Synapses are formed and remodeled in the maturing and adult…

Nitric oxide (NO), a gaseous chemical messenger, is a neuroprotective agent in the brain. It is vital to brain function, as controlled amounts are critical to triggering important signaling mechanisms. NO also causes neurodegeneration, as seen in conditions like stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkins...

Many devastating developmental, neurodegenerative, and acquired central nervous system diseases and injuries primarily affect long-distance connection nerve cells of the cerebral cortex, whose “wiring” of their circuits is performed by extending tiny structures called “growth co...

A longstanding question in neuroscience concerns the cellular mechanisms of learning and memory. Since synapses were first discovered as the sites of communication between neurons, scientists have thought that changes in their number or structure would be a likely substrate of memory. Although ev...

For 30 years Thomas Jessell, Ph.D., has been probing how nerve circuits function in the spinal cord. He’s continuing the journey with support from the Brain Research Foundation. What types of molecules are at…

Brain disorders represent a great societal burden but are among the least understood of all diseases; for psychiatric disorders in particular, the underlying pathologies are largely unknown and treatment is mostly ineffective. Many brain disorders have a genetic component, and advances in genomic...

A “burst” is a brief period of high-frequency activity in a neuron, an event that can have a powerful impact on brain circuits. Overly-exuberant bursting—for example, when bursts occur repeatedly…