UCLA-led team develops new system for tracking chemicals in the brain

UCLA and Columbia University researchers have developed a new method for tracking the activities of small molecules in the brain, including the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine.“Understanding the fundamentals of how neurotransmission occurs will help us understand not only how our brains work, but what’s going on in psychiatric disorders,” said Anne Andrews, the study’s lead author, a UCLA professor of psychiatry and chemistry.The research, which was published in the journal Science, is part of the BRAIN Initiative, a collaboration among government, private industry, nonprofits, and colleges and universities.To observe chemicals in the brain in more detail than current methods allow, the team developed a new strategy: pairing tiny artificial receptors with semiconductors that can function in living tissue.The idea for the project began 20 years ago. While researching serotonin, Andrews realized that the then-state-of-the-art methods for monitoring neurochemicals couldn ’t provide data with sufficient quality, and she determined she needed a totally new technology.UCLAAnne AndrewsAndrews envisioned coupling engineered receptors, to bind neurotransmitters, with a nanoscale transistor, to relay the information. A major hurdle, however, was that the required transistors, which are basic units of computers and cell phones, don ’t work well in wet, salty environments.  “The workhorse of any transistor is the semiconductor,” Andrews said. “But when you put...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news