A team led by University of Idaho scientists has found a way to stimulate formation of new neural connections in the adult brain in a study that could eventually help humans fend off memory loss, brain trauma and other ailments in the central nervous system.
Peter G. Fuerst, an associate professor in the College of Science’s Department of Biological Sciences and WWAMI Medical Education Program, and a team that included lead author doctoral student Aaron Simmons, were able to stimulate growth of new neural connections in mice that are needed to connect the cells into neural circuits. Their study, which included scientists from the University of Louisville and University of Puerto Rico-Humacao, is titled “DSCAM-Mediated Control of Dendritic and Axonal Arbor Outgrowth Enforces Tiling and Inhibits Synaptic Plasticity.” It was published today in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
