Neuroscience

The brain is one of the last great frontiers of biology. This is because so much remains to be learned about how it functions and interacts with the entire body and also because of new technologies, such as brain imaging and microarray capabilities, that give neuroscientists a window into the active brain.

Researchers in the Yerkes Division of Neuroscience are working to advance the understanding of the active human brain through studies focusing on the development and function of the nervous system and anatomical differences seen when neurological disorders are present. Primary areas of research in the Division of Neuroscience include studies on drug addiction, the neurobiology of social behaviors and affiliations, aging and memory loss, neurodegenerative diseases and imaging.

Findings by researchers such as Michael Kuhar, PhD, chief of neuroscience at Yerkes, clearly show how neuroscience research is contributing to a better understanding of the human brain. Kuhar discovered cocaine switches on specific genes that code for the CART peptide, which serves as a chemical messenger in the brain. As a result of this initial finding, Yerkes researchers now are targeting the CART system to find treatments for cocaine addiction and eating disorders.