Robert A. Pearce, MD, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Mice carrying the GABAA receptor β3(N265M) point mutation, which renders receptors incorporating β3-subunits insensitive to many general anesthetics, have been used experimentally to link modulation of different receptor subtypes to distinct behavioral endpoints. Remarkably, however, the effect of the mutation on the susceptibility to modulation by isoflurane (a standard reference agent for inhalational vapors) has never been tested directly. Therefore, we compared the modulation by isoflurane of expressed α5β3(N265M)γ2L receptors with their wild type counterparts.

Individualized brain cell grafts reverse Parkinson’s symptoms in monkeys

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Grafting neurons grown from monkeys’ own cells into their brains relieved the debilitating movement and depression symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison reported today.

Ben Parrell, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Individuals with cerebellar ataxia (CA) caused by cerebellar degeneration exhibit larger reactive compensatory responses to unexpected auditory feedback perturbations than neurobiologically typical speakers, suggesting they may rely more on feedback control during speech. We test this hypothesis by examining variability in unaltered speech. Previous studies of typical speakers have demonstrated a reduction in formant variability (centering) observed during the initial phase of vowel production from vowel onset to vowel midpoint.

Peter Ferrazzano, MD – Slide of the Week

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Adolescent traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health concern, resulting in over 35,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. each year. While neuroimaging is a primary diagnostic tool in the clinical assessment of TBI, our understanding of how specific neuroimaging findings relate to outcome remains limited. Our study aims to identify imaging biomarkers of long-term neurocognitive outcome after severe adolescent TBI.

Caroline A Niziolek, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Speakers use auditory feedback to guide their speech output, although individuals differ in the magnitude of their compensatory response to perceived errors in feedback. Little is known about the factors that contribute to the compensatory response or how fixed or flexible they are within an individual. Here, we test whether manipulating the perceived reliability of auditory feedback modulates speakers’ compensation to auditory perturbations, as predicted by optimal models of sensorimotor control.

Thoughts of gratitude: the Willis family

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On August 13, 2003, a coach bus pulled up to the Waisman Center. The 21 passengers – all children and grandchildren of the visit’s organizers, Bill and Doris Willis – were coming from Milwaukee to the center for a tour. The Waisman Center was the second stop on a day full of enrichment activities for …

Darcie L. Moore, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Intermediate filaments are commonly used markers of NSCs in the brain, yet the cell cycle status of a NSC can strongly influence expression of these markers. Thus, intermediate filaments should be used cautiously as markers to study NSCs.

James Li, PhD – Slide of the Week

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There is substantial heterogeneity in the development of depression from adolescence into adulthood. Yet, little is known about the risk factors underlying its various patterns of development. For instance, despite the discovery of genetic variants for depression, these discoveries have not accounted for the high degree of genetic covariation between multiple disorders, nor have they been applied to disambiguate its heterogeneous developmental presentations.

Margarita Kaushanskaya, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Acoustic cues to deception on a picture-naming task were analyzed in three groups of English speakers: monolinguals, bilinguals with English as their first language, and bilinguals with English as a second language

UW vision researchers partner with U.S. Department of Defense to develop stem cell therapy for combat-related eye injuries

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The new project, titled Outer Retina Reconstruction for Combat Afflictions or ORRCA, is a collaboration between the McPherson Eye Research Insitute at UW‒Madison, the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, the UW College of Engineering, the University of Birmingham (UK) and British Ministry of Defence and the National Eye Institute. It is funded by a grant for more than $5 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).