Portraits of the Mind

Scientists have unraveled how mutant molecules damage the nervous system of people with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, a group of disorders that hinder people’s ability to move and feel sensation in their hands and feet, according to a paper co-led by Samuel Pfaff. The team used a range of neurogenetic, gene therapy, biochemical and structural biology research techniques to discover that the mutant GlyRS enzyme blocked molecular signals important for maintaining the health of motor neurons. The findings suggest a possible avenue for developing new therapies for CMT.

Read News Release

A team led by Rusty Gage has taken human skin cells and turned them into neurons that signal to one another using serotonin, a brain chemical crucial to mental wellbeing. Although serotonin neurons comprise only a small fraction of the brain’s cells, these neurons are tied to debilitating disorders such as major depression, schizophrenia and autism. Depression is commonly treated using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which heighten serotonin signaling in the small gaps between neighboring neurons. The new method of generating serotonintransmitting neurons gives researchers a lens with which to study neurotransmitter mechanisms and how they may go awry in mental illness.

Read News Release

Martyn Goulding and collaborators were able to show that the spinal neurons involved in the tingling sensation caused by a light touch are different from those transmitting pain. This is the first study that reveals the presence of a dedicated neural pathway for this particular sensation in the spinal cord. The new results lend insights into potential mechanisms of chronic itch, which can be caused by eczema, diabetic neuropathy, multiple sclerosis and certain types of cancers. It may also help explain why some people affected by itch are unresponsive to antihistamine drugs.

Read News Release

David Schubert’s lab found that an experimental drug candidate aimed at combating Alzheimer’s disease has a host of unexpected anti-aging effects in animals. His team expanded upon their previous development of a drug candidate, called J147, showing that it worked well in a mouse model of aging not typically used in Alzheimer’s research. When these mice were treated with J147, they had better memory and cognition, healthier blood vessels in the brain and other improved physiological features.

Read News Release

A tiny sliver of DNA—several thousand times smaller than a typical gene—produces a molecule that has crucial influence over whether people have control over their muscles. Samuel Pfaff and colleagues report that animals unable to produce just one type of many genetic molecules called microRNAs develop symptoms of devastating neurodegenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The findings upend previous understanding of the role of microRNAs in the nervous system and may open a door to new avenues for treating neurodegenerative disorders.

Read News Release

A gene linked to mental disorders helps lay the foundation for a crucial brain structure, according to research from Dennis O’Leary’s lab. Researchers found that when the gene MDGA1 is disabled in early development, the neuron precursors in the cerebral cortex migrated to the wrong places in the brain and, without MDGA1, the cerebral cortex loses about half its neurons. These new results suggest that mutations in MDGA1 while the cortex is developing could produce snowball effects leading to the development of brain disorders.

Read News Release