Run! for your brain: Gary Westbrook

At one point in your middle school or high school biology class, you may have learned that the number of neurons in your brain is set at birth. For examples your skin cells are constantly dying and being renewed. Your brain cells, on the other hand, cannot be renewed once they die.

In the last decade, however, scientists have discovered that this is not entirely true. A part of the brain called the hippocampus is one of the few sites for adult neurogenesis (the production of neurons after birth). Here, neurons are constantly being produced throughout life and incorporated into the current network of neurons. Interestingly, this part of the brain is important for the formation of episodic memories. Our guest this week, Gary Westbrook, Senior Scientist and Co-Director at the Vollum Institute at Oregon Health and Science University, is working to understand this important process. His lab is interested in what causes the production of new neurons and the incorporation of these neurons into existing neuronal networks. They have found that simple exercise is enough to increase the production of new neurons in rodents. Tune in to hear more about this vital and fascinating process.

More on the Westbrook Lab's research

Mapping the brain's blood vessels: David Kleinfeld

David Kleinfeld is a professor in the Department of Physics at the University of California, San Diego. In this month’s episode, Dr. Kleinfeld talks about the different, important questions his lab is addressing.

One part of his lab is trying to understand how the brain uses sensory input to process information about the environment. The lab uses the vibrissa (whisker) system in rats and mice to understand how they sense and navigate the world. Next, Dr. Kleinfeld discusses how changes in blood flow in the brain can be used to visualize electrical activity evoked by different stimuli. The tools his lab let them see blood flow at the level of a single blood vessel. Using these optical techniques, they can map every blood vessel and brain cell within sensory cortex. Creating a complicated “road map” of the brain can eventually be used to help interpret results from imaging techniques such as fMRI used in humans.


More on the Kleinfeld Lab's research

Hosted by Osama Ahmed

Figuring out the role of neurons in zebrafish swimming: Herwig Baier

He wants to know how brain cells (neurons) give rise to behavior. He explains to us how he is using light to turn on neurons in the zebrafish brain to understand how these cells affect the fish’s swimming.

More on the Baier Lab's research

Producer: Sama Ahmed