Posts Tagged ‘neuroscience’

A team of OHSU researchers, led by Daniel Marks, M.D., has discovered the brain mechanism that makes us feel tired when we’re sick. Sickness-induced fatigue, they found, happens in the orexin system, which regulates sleep and arousal. The good news? Treatments of sleep disorders using orexin have been studied for years. According to Dr. Marks, this should speed the time it takes to translate their research findings into a clinical treatment for tired, unmotivated patients … Read More

The NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, a seven-year-old collaborative initiative between 16 NIH centers and institutes, is seeking feedback on what types of projects it should fund over the next several years. Specifically, the NIH Blueprint wants to know: Areas of neuroscience research that could be accelerated by the development of specific research resources or tools. Major opportunities for, and impediments to, advancing neuroscience research. What are the 2-3 highest priority tools or resources needed … Read More

In a recent study co-authored by Henrique von Gersdorff, PhD, senior scientist at the Vollum Institute, OHSU researchers discovered that nerve cells in the eye require relatively high levels of vitamin C in order to function, leading them to believe that vitamin C may play a greater role in overall brain function than they had previously thought. Findings from the study were published in the June 29 edition of the Journal of Neuroscience. View the … Read More

New research by OHSU’s Glen Kisby, PhD, Peter Spencer, PhD, and collaborators, suggests that there may be a connection between neurodegenerative diseases, like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer’s, and cancer. Drs. Kisby and Spencer came to this conclusion by studying the effects of methylazoxymethanol (MAM), a genotoxin that appears to act as both a neurotoxin and a carcinogen, in both humans and animal models. According to Dr. Kisby: “The overlap of molecular pathways implicated … Read More

Best known for their popular Brain Awareness Lecture Series, the OHSU Brain Institute has a brand new website. The website includes a “Research & Training” section, which includes a list of disorders that OHSU researchers are currently investigating and a compilation of the Brain Institute’s most notable scientific breakthroughs. Visit the OHSU Brain Institute website.

Understanding how the ear can detect sound, particularly faint sounds, has long been perplexing for biologists. The organ of Corti, the anatomical structure within the ear that detects sound, is known to vibrate in response to sound. However, monitoring these vibrations has been difficult, as cells are positioned in within the choclea, deep within the skull. Alfred Nuttall, PhD, director of the Oregon Hearing Research Center, and collaborators from across OHSU worked together to develop … Read More

The Department of Behavioral Neuroscience invites you their 50th anniversary celebration on Friday, May 20 from 12:45 to 5:30 p.m. in the Doernbecher Vey Auditorium. Speakers from OHSU include: Bob Hitzemann, PhD, Joe Robertson, MD, MBA, Dan Dorsa, PhD, Joe Matarazzo, PhD, Ruth Matarazzo, PhD, Arthur Wiens, PhD, Chris Cunningham, PhD, Tamara Phillips, PhD, Matt Lattal, PhD, and Suzanne Mitchell, PhD. The event also includes a presentation by R. Adron Harris, director of the Waggoner … Read More

This year’s 21st Annual John M. Brookhart Lecture, sponsored by the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, will feature Joseph Takahashi, Ph.D., Howard Hughes investigator in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The event is being held Tuesday, May 10 from 3 to 4 p.m. in the OHSU Auditorium. Immediately following his presentation on the “Genetic Analysis of Circadian Clocks in Mammals,” Dr. Takahashi will be joined by Alfred Lewy, … Read More

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. and the leading cause of adult disability. Join Mary Stenzel-Poore, Ph.D. (far left), professor and chair of molecular microbiology and immunology, and associate dean for basic sciences, and Helmi Lutsep, M.D., professor of neurology, on Thursday, April 21 for a lecture on, “Neuroprotection and Stroke: New Strategies to Protect Against Brain Injury.” This lecture is part of the Marquam Hill Lecture Series, which features … Read More

School of Dentistry researchers in Agnieszka Balkowiec’s lab, Ewa Balkowiec-Iskra, M.D., Ph.D., and Anke Vermehren-Schmaedick, Ph.D., have discovered the molecular mechanism that causes pain when orofacial tissue is inflamed. Their research will be published later this month in Neuroscience but in the meantime is available via ScienceDirect.com. This research may lead to more effective treatment for pain due to inflammation, including migraine headaches and toothache. Read the full OHSU news release.