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Changes in the efficiency of synaptic communications between neurons underlie learning and memory. This process is called synaptic plasticity and is caused by biochemical reactions mediated by hundreds of species of molecules in each synapse. Many mental diseases are caused by failure of this pro...

The goal of Dr. Eberwine’s proposal is to enable new therapeutic modalities for treating mitochondrial diseases through the development and use of novel mitochondrial engineering procedures. While mammalian genome engineering has been performed for decades, advances in mitochondria engineer...

Brain circuits develop through an interaction between genetics and the environment. Previous studies have shown that there are at least two distinct phases in brain development. During a first genetically determined stage, gene expression dictates the emergence of cell types and their specific co...

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...

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...

General anesthesia is a reversible, drug-induced brain state comprised of unconsciousness, amnesia, analgesia and immobility with stability and control of vital physiological systems. Yet the mechanism by which anesthetic drugs induce such brain state remains largely a mystery in neuroscience and...

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...