UCLA study maps major circuit in the mouse brain

A UCLA study using mice reveals new insights into the wiring of a major circuit in the brain that is attacked by Parkinson ’s and Huntington’s diseases. The findings could hone scientists’ understanding of how diseases arise in the human brain and pinpoint new targets for treatment.Published today in Nature, the research is part of a package of 17 articles  bytheBRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network. The national consortium of neuroscientists aims to unlock the mysteries of the primary motor cortex, a part of the mammalian brain that controls movement.With funding from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institutes of Health ’sBRAIN Initiative, the UCLA scientists have been conducting a comprehensive analysis of how the mouse brain is wired. Their research has thus far meticulously analyzed 600 pathways and catalogued nerve-cell connectivity to create a wiring diagram of critical brain circuits.“Like any explorer traveling deep into uncharted territory, we make maps to guide future visitors,” saidDr. Hong-Wei Dong, the study ’s lead author and a professor of neurobiology at theDavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.“My lab mapped out the intricate circuitry of the mouse brain to enable other scientists to conduct more accurate experiments in mouse models of diseases like Parkinson’s or Huntington’s disease.”UCLA scientists labeled a small number of individual neurons with a green dye, enabling the team to track their connections wit...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news