Caught in the Act: Study Catches Brain Circuits as They Rewire
UCSF scientists have caught brain circuits in the act of rewiring themselves to change how they respond to sensory input.
![microscope image of brain circuits](/sites/default/files/styles/news_card__image/public/2019-10/brain-curcuits-rewiring-stryker.jpg)
University of California San Francisco
Give to UCSFUCSF scientists have caught brain circuits in the act of rewiring themselves to change how they respond to sensory input.
The UCSF scientists who identified the two known human genes that promote “natural short sleep” have now discovered a third, and it’s also the first gene that’s ever been shown to prevent the memory deficits that normally accompany sleep deprivation.
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year, multi-investigator research grant expected to total more than $63 million to Mayo Clinic and UC San Francisco, to advance treatments for frontotemporal lobar degeneration.
Scientists used maps of brain connections to predict how brain atrophy would spread in individual patients with frontotemporal dementia, adding to growing evidence that the loss of brain cells associated with dementia spreads via the synaptic connections between established brain networks.
Distinct patterns of electrical activity in the sleeping brain may influence whether we remember or forget what we learned the previous day.
International team of researchers report progress in using stem cells to develop new therapies for Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, a rare genetic condition affecting boys that can be fatal before 10 years of age.
UCSF study conducted in songbirds shows that what at first appear to be genetic constraints on birds’ song learning abilities could be largely eliminated by tailoring instruction to better match the birds’ inborn predispositions.
UCSF scientists who identified the only human gene known to promote “natural short sleep” have discovered a second.
Blood test that is currently under development may flag concussion in CT-negative patients, enabling them to be evaluated for long-term complications.
Researchers discovered a scorpion toxin that targets the “wasabi receptor,” which they think it can be used as a tool for studying chronic pain and inflammation, and may eventually lead to the development of new kinds of non-opioid pain relievers.
In a paper researchers describe a technique that uses a special version of CRISPR developed at UCSF to systematically alter the activity of genes in human neurons generated from stem cells, the first successful merger of stem cell-derived cell types and CRISPR screening technologies.
Scientists identify faulty molecular recycling as potential driver of Alzheimer’s disease.
UCSF scientists show that Alzheimer’s disease directly attacks brain regions responsible for wakefulness during the day.