Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
How do we hear? And how can cochlear implants help those with impaired hearing? Waisman researcher Ruth Litovsky, PhD, answers these questions in the latest episode of Blue Sky Science, a collaboration of the Wisconsin State Journal and the Morgridge Institute for Research. Read the article here.
Title: Longitudinal changes in cortical thickness in autism and typical development Legend: Abnormal age-related cortical thickness trajectories in ASD. Coloured brain regions identify significant group differences in age-related cortical thickness changes. Each scan is represented by a dot and repeated scans are connected by lines. Regions depicted were significant both before and after controlling for …
Led by their student council members and teachers, the students carried out a ‘Dimes for Down’ syndrome fundraiser and raised more than $700 in support of the Down Syndrome Clinic at the Waisman Center.
UW–Madison’s Waisman Center is known for its groundbreaking work helping people with developmental disabilities and neurodegenerative disorders. On Thursday, Dec. 10, several members of the UW System Board of Regents and the system president and his leadership team had the chance to tour the building and meet many of the people who help the center carry on its work.
Su-Chun Zhang, a pioneer in developing neurons from stem cells at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has created a specialized nerve cell that makes serotonin, a signaling chemical with a broad role in the brain. Serotonin affects emotions, sleep, anxiety, depression, appetite, pulse and breathing. It also plays a role in serious psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia, …
Title: Effects of classroom bilingualism on task-shifting, verbal memory, and word learning in children Legend: Children who experienced two years of Spanish exposure in a dual-immersion classroom outperformed monolingual children when learning new made-up words (e.g., “gateke”). This was especially true when they learned new words for objects they were familiar with (e.g., turtle). Citation: …
A positive emotional climate at home and inclusive educational experiences while at school can have long-lasting beneficial effects for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a recent study by researchers at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Massachusetts. As children with ASD transition to adulthood many of …
A fruit fly model of a rare, neurodegenerative disease is helping researchers trace the series of steps that lead to neuronal cell death. Damage to astrocytes - star-shaped cells found in the brain and spinal cord - is found in many neurodegenerative conditions, but it's been unclear exactly what role astrocyte dysfunction plays in the development of disease.
As basketball season gathers steam (go Badgers!), one small town in northern Wisconsin will be buzzing with excitement about a different basketball tournament on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Title: Increasing Nrf2 activity in astrocytes confers protection to Nrf2 knockout neurons Legend: Nrf2 KO cultures were traduced with 50 MOI adenovirus-Nrf2-GFP or adenovirus-GFP 48 hours prior to H2O2 treatment. Cultures were immunohistochemically analyzed following treatment with 50 µM H2O2. Neuronal marker, beta(III)-tubulin (red), eGFP (green); Hoechst 3258 (blue). Citation: Kraft, A.D., Johnson, D.A. and J.A. Johnson (2004). Nrf2-dependent ARE …
