Ongoing Research
The
Krasnow Institute continues to develop its long-term research program
based on the contributions of George Mason University faculty holding
joint appointments at Krasnow and other GMU academic departments. The
research program receives the majority of its support from federal agencies
such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), but also from prestigious
private organizations.
For example, Drs. Ernest Barreto and Paul So focus their research in neural dynamics where they are helping to create novel descriptions of how connected nerve cells interact in behavior and disease. They have been instrumental in applying techniques from the control of erratic chaotic systems to neuronal networks in an effort to lay a foundation for the eventual control of dynamical diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson's tremor.
Kevin McCabe uses functional brain imaging to delineate the parts of the nervous system active during market-oriented behavior. This new field is called neuroeconomics.
As part of the Institute's cognitive neuroscience research efforts, Professor Layne Kalbfleisch is using functional non-invasive brain imaging to study talent and cognitive control in a variety of subjects.
Another researcher, Dr. Ann Butler is working on several projects that address different aspects of forebrain evolution in vertebrates. One project involves study of the relationship of cellular architecture to behavior and cognitive functions in ray-finned fishes. This group of animals exhibits extensive diversity in the organization of the forebrain and is thus an excellent model for patterns and mechanisms of forebrain evolution.
Dr. Giorgio Ascoli is developing new computational techniques which are enabling us to understand how the complex morphology of nerve cells enables their function. He also is working on understanding how the changes of neuronal anatomy known to occur in Alzheimer's patients cause the impaired behavior of nerve cells at the basis of memory loss and dementia. His research will provide significant evidence about a basic mechanism underlying the neuronal malfunction that typifies Alzheimer's and related diseases.
Dr. Avrama Blackwell is using a simple marine snail's nervous system to understand the critical role played by free calcium in regulating the complex inter-neuronal signaling that occurs in each and every nerve cell in our brains.
Dr. Jim Olds research program focuses on the functional role of the mammalian neocortex, hippocampus and cerebellum with special emphasis on how these highly ordered neuroanatomical regions interact to store and retrieve complex memories (ranging from face recognition to motor programs). At the cellular level, he is also interested in the critical role protein kinase C, a multi-member enzyme family, plays in transformation with special emphasis on those changes associated with cellular memory.
Last update: 07-09-08