Research Expertise and Interest
neuroscience, addiction, early life adversity, adolescence, neuroplasticity, dopamine, Food Insecurity
In the News
Food Insecurity Has Lasting Impacts on the Brains and Behavior of Mice
While food insecurity is a problem for a growing segment of the U.S. population — made even worse by the coronavirus pandemic — few studies have looked at the effect that feast or famine has on the developing brain in isolation from other factors that contribute to adversity. A new study by neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, simulated the effects of food insecurity in juvenile mice and found lasting changes later in life.
Puberty hormones trigger changes in youthful learning
UC Berkeley study of mice reveals, for the first time, how puberty hormones might impede some aspects of flexible youthful learning.
Scientists tap the smarts of mice, capture problem-solving in action
UC Berkeley scientists have captured unique images of problem-solving in action by tapping into the minds of mice. The study shows rapid rewiring in the rodents’ frontal brains after they learn by trial and error.
Intellectual Pursuits May Buffer the Brain Against Addiction
Challenging the idea that addiction is hardwired in the brain, a new UC Berkeley study of mice suggests that even a short time spent in a stimulating learning environment can rewire the brain’s reward system and buffer it against drug dependence.
The Adolescent Brain Grows Up
Neuroscientist Linda Wilbrecht can observe “rewiring” in the living brain using an imaging instrument called a twophoton laser scanning microscope, which has a resolution better than 1/10,000 of an inch.
Cocaine’s effect on mice may explain human drug-seeking behavior
Cocaine can speedily rewire high-level brain circuits that support learning, memory and decision-making, according to new research from UC Berkeley and UCSF. The findings shed new light on the frontal brain’s role in drug-seeking behavior and may be key to tackling addiction.
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