Print FriendlyNeuroscience
Our brains perform millions of complex computations every second. These allow us to understand language, recognize faces, and schedule our day. But without access to its "wiring diagram" – a map of its neuronal interconnections – attempting to grasp how the brain achieves this is like trying to figure out how a computer works by simply looking it.
Salk scientists' goals is to discover how the 100 billion neurons that make up our brain are produced, grow and organize into an intricate, functionally active network that controls how we perceive, behave and remember. Ultimately, they want to understand the brain's development, structure and mature function in sufficient detail to be able to intervene therapeutically in devastating neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and to treat stroke, addiction and schizophrenia.
The Neuroscience Initiative Will:
- Enable Salk scientists to understand the molecular basis of behavior and the genes that regulate it — knowledge that can be applied to understand the cognitive loss of memory in Alzheimer's disease and other mental diseases.
- Pinpoint molecular and cellular changes in circuits involved in motor learning, habit learning, mood and memory, and facilitate development of therapeutics for treating stroke, addiction, schizophrenia, anxiety and dementia.
- Shed light on the neural circuitry that coordinates walking movements, which will help explain the amazing adaptability of the human brain and shape treatments for recovery following spinal injury.
- Help scientists understand how the brain encodes sensory information and, one day, may lead to the development of prosthetic implants to treat macular degeneration.
Your Gifts to the Neuroscience Initiative Support:
- Recruitment and set-up packages for four new faculty members who will bring with them new technologies and new ideas to bridge the gap between molecular neurobiology and cognitive neuroscience.
- Renovation of existing laboratory space to accommodate the new faculty members and their students.
- Building and equipping a new core facility, the Center for Neural Behavior, which will integrate tests of learning, memory and motor skills.
For information on how to contribute to this initiative, contact:
Rebecca Newman
Vice President, Development and Communications
858-453-4100 x1454
e-mail: rnewman@salk.edu.