UCTV Seminars

description:

Proper brain function requires the sculpting of connections between neurons during early postnatal life. Synapses - the junctions between nerve cells - are the highways for messages sent and received by every cell in the brain. These junctions are formed and strengthened, weakened and lost, under the influence of sensory experience. Over four decades of research on the visual cortex have culminated in a deep understanding of the mechanisms responsible for whittling away inappropriate synaptic connections. Insights derived from this line of research have recently suggested the remarkable possibility of new treatments that may fundamentally alter the course of fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited form of human intellectual impairment and autism. Dr. Mark Bear initiated the MGluR5 theory of intellectual disability in fragile X syndrome, that led to potential targeted treatments for this disorder.

more on this subject:

The MET Receptor Tyrosine Kinase and Autism Risk

FGF Signaling and Neocortical Patterning

Automatically Mapping the Language Learning Environment of Young Children with Autism: Implications for Assessment and Intervention

see all from Neuroscience and Neurobiology >