The Neural Systems group is a focal point for basic neuroscience research aimed at reverse-engineering neural systems at organizational scales including molecular, cellular, systems, and organismic. Researchers in this group have been bridging the gap between basic neuroscience research and the application areas related to repair, replacement, and augmentation. Examples of their leading-edge research include:
- The Intelligent Hearing Aid project
- Ground-breaking research in Fragile X mental retardation syndrome
- Hosting of the NIDA Center on Neuroproteomics of Cell to Cell Signaling
- Directing two separate NIH training grant programs: Sensory Neuroscience Training Program and the Developmental Psychobiology and Neurobiology Training Program
The near-term future plan for Neural Systems: Repair, Replacement, and Augmentation includes:
- Achieving new insights into local microenvironments and information signal processing, signal integration, molecular computation and cellular changes of state that result in long-term alterations in neuron to neuron and neuron to glia interactions
- Investigating the extracellular space of pairs of neurons as they form synapses, sampling and measuring the chemical cues involved, and validating the approach using several known trophins of neural and glial origin
- Examining the chemical microenvironment during dynamic response to injury, and determining the molecular cues involved
- Developing novel drug delivery techniques and validating the potency of several signaling molecules in the promotion and guidance of neurite outgrowth in vivo and developing model systems, both animal and 2D/3D in vitro, for evaluating and understanding the localization and cellular response mechanisms to the biomolecules
- Studying and building training using brain imaging, eye-tracking, and computational modeling methods