neuroscience

Kirsten Gilbert Alberts and Emma Johnson at the School of Medicine and Keith Hengen in Arts & Sciences each received $70,000 Young Investigator grants from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, an organization that is committed to alleviating the suffering caused by mental illness by supporting research that will lead to advances and breakthroughs in scientific research.

New research from Washington University in St. Louis confirms that the brain tunes itself to a point where it is as excitable as it can be without tipping into disorder, similar to a phase transition. The new research from Keith Hengen, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, is published Oct. 7 in the journal Neuron.

Engineers from the McKelvey School of Engineering want to know if they can use nanotechnology to control neurons and parse the relationship between neural activity and behavior and disease.

Physicists studying the brain at Washington University in St. Louis have shown how measuring signals from a single neuron may be as good as capturing information from many neurons at once using big, expensive arrays of electrodes. The new work continues the discussion about how the brain seems to function in a “critical” state. The research was reported in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Erik Herzog, professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, studies the molecules, cells and circuits of mammalian circadian timing. He also supports and encourages younger neuroscience researchers, from elementary school all the way through doctoral programs.

Keith Hengen, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, was selected by the Allen Institute as a 2018 Next Generation Leader. Hengen is one of six early-career neuroscientists who will participate in a special advisory council for the Allen Institute for Brain Science.

With a strong focus on community, the undergraduate pipeline program ENDURE at Washington University in St. Louis prepares students from diverse backgrounds for neuroscience doctoral programs.

By activating a small subset of the neurons involved in setting daily rhythms, biologist Erik Herzog in Arts & Sciences has unlocked a cure for jet lag in mice, as reported in a July 12 advance online publication of Neuron.

Proposed federal budget cuts to two major programs could translate into fewer treatments, fewer cures, fewer drug findings, fewer researchers and fewer breakthroughs in areas where the United States is a world leader, say science and health experts at Washington University in St. Louis.

In real estate, location is key. It now seems the same concept holds true when it comes to stopping pain. New research co-led by the School of Medicine indicates the location of receptors that transmit pain signals is important in how big or small a pain signal will be and how effectively drugs can block those signals.