A study of human brain tissue by Guoyan Zhao and colleagues identifies genetic activity in microglia and astrocytes related neurodegeneration and neuropathology among individuals with Alzheimer or Parkinson disease.
Category: Research
Cavalli Lab describes immune cells that promote nerve regeneration
After an injury to dorsal root ganglion neurons adjacent to the spinal cord, resident macrophages work with satellite glial cells to heal damaged axons.
Daily activity schedules mapped in the Drosophila brain
Cellular circuits downstream from circadian pacemaker neurons direct normal daily rhythms of feeding, mating and sleep.
Some dinos may have been as brainy as modern primates, controversial study argues (Links to an external site)
Read Dr. Ashley Morhardt’s take on the paper in an article in Science.
Zebrafish advance as a model organism for Fragile X Syndrome
A new study from the Goodhill Lab finds the genetic variant underlying an autism disorder causes changes in fish’s social behavior, preference in visual environment, and neural activity.
Glia: Unsung heroes of the nervous system (Links to an external site)
Read graduate student Katie Lefton’s article in Science Today about astrocytes, microglia, and satellite glial cells.
David Van Essen listed as Highly Cited Researcher for eighth consecutive year
Matthew Glasser, a former graduate student of Van Essen and currently an Instructor in Radiology, also made the 2022 list.
Taghert Lab identifies off switch for a set of circadian clock–controlled behaviors in flies
Phosphorylation of a receptor controls how messages from the neuropeptide PDF—which influence dawn and dusk activities in Drosophila—are curtailed on a daily basis to adapt the circadian clock to changing daylight.
Understanding, treating pain, reducing opioid use, aim of $11.7 million grant (Links to an external site)
Valeria Cavalli, PhD, and Guoyan Zhao, PhD, are among the collaborators at WashU participating in the Integrated Research Center for Human Pain Tissues (INTERCEPT) Pain Center at the School of Medicine.
People missing all or part of the connection between their brain hemispheres are more persuadable
A study of individuals with congenital corpus callosum dysgenesis suggests they face social difficulties due to being more easily influenced and less aware of being tricked.