Neural Circuit Mechanisms in the Early Stage of Alzheimer’s Disease

2017 Seed Grant
Kei Igarashi, Ph.D.
University of California, Irvine

In Alzheimer’s disease, even a small improvement in a patient’s memory may provide them with a vast improvement in their quality of life. ln my previous studies, I discovered that neurons from two separate regions of the rat brain develop a synchronized electrical signal that may help increase long-term memory formation during learning (lgarashi et al., Nature 2014). This project will test if this synchronized brain activity is affected in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model, and explore the possibility that healthy neuronal activity can be restored, leading to the promise of improving learning and performance in people suffering from Alzheimer’s and other memory impairments.

Other Grants

Rebekah C. Evans, Ph.D., Georgetown University
In Vivo and Ex Vivo Dissection of Midbrain Neuron Activity During Exercise
Exercise is important for the health of the body and the mind. Exercise promotes learning and reduces symptoms of brain-related diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. However, it…
William J. Giardino, Ph.D. Stanford University
Deciphering the Neuropeptide Circuitry of Emotional Arousal in Narcolepsy
This research project aims to investigate the neural mechanisms of a specific type of brain cell called neuropeptide neurons within a region of the brain’s amygdala network called the bed…
Howard Gritton, Ph.D., University of Illinois
Attention Mechanisms Contributing to Auditory Spatial Processing.
Our world is composed of a rich mixture of sounds. We often process sounds including speech in the presence of many other competing auditory stimuli (e.g., voices in a crowded…
Nora Kory, Ph.D., Harvard University
Elucidating the Fates and Functions of Lactate in the Brain
The human brain requires significant energy to function. Despite accounting for only 2% of our body weight, the brain consumes a substantial 20% of the body’s energy, relying on a…