Neural stem cells generate new neurons throughout life in the mammalian hippocampus. This process, called adult neurogenesis, is critically involved in certain forms of learning and memory. In addition, failing or altered neurogenesis has been associated with a number of…  Continue reading →

The function of the human brain and its remarkable capacity for information storage and experience-dependent change hinge on the dynamics of chemical synapses – main ‘contact points’ between neurons. My team has a long-standing interest in studying the molecular principles…  Continue reading →

The environmental context is known to plays a profound role in memory. The context is a potent retrieval cue that primes the memories that belong to that context. This is highly adaptive because it prevents interference from memories that belong…  Continue reading →

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a devastating childhood disease caused by loss of function of the survival motor neuron (SMN) gene, leading to the death of nerve and muscle cells. The first SMN gene replacement therapies have recently been approved…  Continue reading →

In most animal species including humans, commissural axons connect neurons on the left and right side of the nervous system. This communication between the two sides of the brain and spinal cord is necessary for a series of complex function,…  Continue reading →

Our laboratory has been working for several years on the role of non-cell autonomous homeoprotein transcription factors in regulating cerebral cortex physiology. We have shown that in mice the OTX2 homeoprotein is expressed in the choroid plexus, secreted into cerebrospinal…  Continue reading →

Neurobiological research on alcohol addiction had grown, but no mechanistically novel medications have been approved in more than 15 years. Promising candidates have failed in development. What have we been missing? Three themes have emerged from our attempts to address…  Continue reading →

Brain postnatal development is characterized by critical periods of experience-dependent remodeling. Termination of this period of intense plasticity is associated with settling of neuronal circuits, allowing for efficient information processing. Failure to end critical periods thus results in neurodevelopmental disorders.…  Continue reading →

The hippocampus is a limbic structure that plays a critical role in the formation, consolidation and recall of various forms of memory, including episodic and spatial memory. How do such complex cognitive functions emerge from the activity of hippocampal neurons…  Continue reading →

The cortex is modern invention of the mammalian brain and a major focus of modern neuroscience. Yet, its role in important functions such as sensory perception has been challenged by numerous cortical inactivation experiments resulting in a lack of effect…  Continue reading →