| |
Primary Research Interests
My research program is primarily in four areas, including adult stem cells, chemical neuroanatomy and circuitry, higher brain functions, and brain imaging.
Stem Cells and Neurotrophic Factors
We have been studying the localization, development, and function of neurotrophic factors in the mammalian brain. We have studied EGF, TGFalpha, TGFbeta, and FGF and have focused on the TGFa family of growth factors since 1982. Experimental approaches include in situ nucleic acid hybridization, immunocytochemistry, minipump infusions, neurotoxic lesions, behavioral pharmacology, fluorescence histochemistry, and retrograde tracing. Present focus is on in vivo regeneration from endogenous stem cells in the brain, and their application to neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, and trauma in humans and have just begun a study to create new neural interfaces for advanced prosthetic limbs and neural chips.
Chemical Neuroanatomy
We study of the distribution and connections of chemically defined circuits in the brain and have detailed the dopamine and norepinephrine system, as well as the distribution of opioid peptide and growth factor systems, especially in the basal ganglia, limbic system, and cortex in the developing and adult brain.
Higher Brain Functions
I am interested in the neural circuitry and genetics of creativity, artistic talent, psychopathology, criminal behavior, and levels of consciousness.
Human Brain Imaging
Extensive collaborations with clinical and basic researchers on studies of depression, schizophrenia, tobacco use, language disorders, personality, intelligence, male-female differences in cognition, consciousness and anesthesia, human cortical development, sleep, emotional memory, imaging genetic studies of psychiatric disorders, modeling of neural circuits, and law, culture, and the brain.
|
