The disconnected Brain Basic Insights Into Brain Disorders Connections

the disconnected brain- basic insights into brain disorders connections between the many individual nerve cells that comprise the circuits

The 'disconnected brain'- basic insights into brain disorders
Connections between the many individual nerve cells that comprise the
circuits and systems of the brain are fundamental to normal behaviour.
There are trillions of these in the human brain; highly specialised,
sub-microscopic structures called synapses. SoNG UK research council
funded work is addressing basic questions on synaptic signalling, such
as ‘What regulates the function of synapses?’ and ‘What happens when
signalling at synapses breaks down?’. The answers to these questions
have the potential for a broad impact in the neurosciences as synaptic
dysfunction is key to many neurodegenerative and psychiatric brain
disorders including dementia, depression, anxiety and addiction.
Researchers in SoNG are employing a wide range of model systems to
improve understanding of synaptic signalling. Simple invertebrates are
proving invaluable in this approach. For example, the nematode C.
elegans, a microscopic soil-dwelling worm, is providing a model to
investigate the effects of alcohol on signalling between nerve cells.
The advantage of C. elegans is that its nervous system is considerably
smaller than our own, whilst at the same time it responds across the
same range of alcohol dose exhibiting acute intoxication and chronic
adaptation and withdrawal. In particular C. elegans provides a
powerful genetic platform to decipher novel 'alcohol addiction genes'
that could be extrapolated to our own nervous system. This approach
will provide further insight into alcohol addiction and the
possibility of novel therapeutic interventions to treat this complex
condition in humans. The biologists engaged in this research are part
of a larger collaborative network, the Wessex Alcohol Research
Collaborative (WARC) that links scientists, clinicians and
stakeholders to encourage the involvement of lay experts in
formulating the research agenda.