Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders
Parkinson’s disease research is pushing forward on many fronts, from molecular studies to cells in culture, to circuits composed of networks of neurons, to patients in the operating room and in the clinics. Engineering and computational neuroscience are dovetailing with traditional and innovative models of the disease process in Parkinson’s. Treatments on the horizon include electrical and optical stimulation, gene therapy, and stem cell transplantation.
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When brain scientists talk about plasticity, they refer to the molding of the organ’s circuitry by new experiences: building new wiring patterns, pruning others. Plasticity in the brain is at its peak in the growing, learning organism, most powerfully evident, in the human infant. Communication between nerve cells (at places called synapses) changes in response to brain activity generated by new and repeated experiences. The geometry of the junction at the synapse itself changes; even the electrical responses of the cell membranes can change with repeated exposure to an event. Plasticity is also at work when the brain responds to repeated pain, or to repeated drug use, both of which can induce profound changes in motivation, habits, and life style—learning, although a less socially desirable form.
Pain and Addiction
Pain and addiction researchers will delve into the changes in those circuits in which pain is perceived and processed and those that mediate the rewarding properties of drugs. Researchers will also explore the circuits that mediate craving when people no longer have access to their favorite drug or medication.
Researchers in the program for neural plasticity and repair are working to recognize and tune the brain’s similar responses to pain and its reactions to addictive drugs. Technological advances are yielding detailed genetic and molecular details in the rewiring of neural circuits. These details will help explain how we learn and remember. A growing body of knowledge is already providing new therapeutic strategies to address damaged neural circuits. Most importantly, the ability to understand and affect brain plasticity will hopefully allow physicians to harness the power of these processes to assist in healing brain defects, to avoid chronic pain, and to prevent and treat addiction.
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