Olivia DrakeQuality-of-life for patients with Schizophrenia has been recognized as a crucial domain of outcome in schizophrenia treatment, and yet its determinants are not well understood. Arielle Tolman ’10, who studied "Neurocognitive Predictors of Objective and Subjective Quality-of-Life in Individuals with Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analytic Investigation” as her senior honors thesis, will have the opportunity to share her research with other scientists interested in schizophrenia. This month, the editors of Schizophrenia Bulletin accepted Tolman’s paper for publication in an upcoming edition. “This is a real achievement, particularly at the undergraduate level,” says the paper’s co-author and Tolman’s advisor Matthew Kurtz, assistant professor…
Laura Grabel, the Lauren B. Dachs Professor of Science and Society, professor of biology, and Jan Naegele, professor of neuroscience and behavior, professor of biology, are the co-authors of “Migration of transplanted neural stem cells in experimental models of neurodegenerative diseases,” published in Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine by Springer/Humana Press, 2010.
David Bodznick, dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, professor of biology and professor of neuroscience and behavior, is the co-author of “Functional origins of the vertebrate cerebellum from a sensory processing antecedent,” published in Current Zoology 56 (3): 277-284, 2010 and “The Importance of N-methyl d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in subtraction of electrosensory reafference in the dorsal nucleus of skates,” published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, 2010.
Stephen Devoto, associate professor of biology, associate professor of neuroscience and behavior, is the co-author of “BMP Regulation of myogenesis in zebrafish,” published in Developmental Dynamics 239: 806-817, 2010.
Janice Naegele, professor of biology, professor of neuroscience and behavior, is the co-author of “Gene and stem cell therapies for treating epilepsy,” published in Epilepsy: Mechanisms, Models, and Translational Perspectives, Dekker M, Inc., 2010; “Migration of transplanted neural stem cells in models of neurodegenerative diseases,” published in Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine by Springer Science (Humana Press, 2010; “Westward Ho! Pioneering mouse models for X-linked infantile spasms syndrome,” published in Epilepsy Currents 10(1): 1-4, 2010; “Trekking through the telencephalon: hepatocyte growth factor-mediated guidance for parvalbumin-expressing interneurons,” published in Epilepsy Currents 10(4), 2010; and “Transplants for brain repair in epilepsy and…
Corrina KerrHilary Barth, assistant professor of psychology, was recently awarded a five-year, $761,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study “magnitude biases in mathematical cognition, learning, and development.” Barth will be conducting a series of studies with children and adults in the Cognitive Development Laboratory at Wesleyan to investigate abstract and perceptual magnitude biases. The grant, which begins this year, comes from the NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program. The program is only available to non-tenured faculty. Barth’s colleague Anna Shusterman was awarded a CAREER grant in 2009. “The psychology department is thrilled about Professor Barth's accomplishment,” says Lisa…
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David PesciAnn Burke, associate professor of biology, recently received a three-year, $395,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the development and evolution of the shoulder girdle using transgenic mice, frog and salamander. The mice will be generated in collaboration with a lab at the University of Michigan and will allow Burke and her associates to turn off Hox genes, which are specific patterning genes, in specific sub populations of the embryonic mesoderm that make the musculoskeletal tissues. "Comparing the dynamics of gene expression and cell interactions during the formation of the pectoral region in a variety of embryos…
Jan Naegele, professor of neuroscience and behavior, professor and chair of biology, was honored for her innovative work in bioscience by the organization “We Work For Health" overseen by the Connecticut Consortium of Independent Colleges on May 18. Congressman Joe Courtney presented a plaque to Naegele’s designee, Deborah Hall '11 at a ceremony in Cromwell, Conn.
John Kirn, chair and professor of neuroscience and behavior, professor of biology, director of Graduate Studies, is the co-author of a book chapter titled "Regulation and function of neuronal replacement in the avian song system." The chapter is published inside the book Neuroscience of Birdsong, released in 2009 by Cambridge University Press. The book provides a comprehensive summary of birdsong neurobiology, and identifies the common brain mechanisms underlying this achievement in both birds and humans. Written primarily for advanced graduates and researchers, there is an introductory overview covering song learning, the parallels between language and birdsong and the relationship between…
Gloster Aaron, assistant professor of biology, assistant professor of neuroscience and behavior, is the co-author of "Statistical Significance of Precisely Repeated Intracellular Synaptic Patterns," published in PLoS ONE 3(12): e3983, Dec. 19, 2008.
Gloster Aaron, assistant professor of biology, assistant professor of neuroscience and behavior, received a $50,000 grant from The Epilepsy Foundation on Dec. 6 titled "STEP Regulation of Epileptogensis in the Hippocampus." Drugs prescribed to combat epilepsy can yield unwanted side effects. One reason that drugs have side effects is that they can affect almost every neuron in the brain, regardless of their roles in spreading seizures. Aaron will research ways target only the neurons that may be most important in stopping the spread of seizures. Previous work has shown that a certain protein, STEP, is found in select groups of…