OVERVIEW

Our laboratory studies how aging affects the brain, in particular how oxidative stress leads to the degeneration of specific nerve cells called basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. These neurons are important in learning and memory and are selectively lost in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

Recently, we have begun looking at how aging makes the brain more susceptible to stroke. We also study the genetics of brain tumors in large, diffuse B-cell lymphoma. We use many research methods in these studies, including cell culture, animal models, laser microdissection and DNA microarrays.

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter in several distinct populations of brain neurons. The basal forebrain cholinergic neurons are important in memory function, and their loss in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) contributes to the cognitive deficits of the disease. The striatal and pontine cholinergic neurons are more resistant to disease. The tissues of the body are continually combating oxidative stress; because of the relatively high level of oxygen and glucose consumption of the brain, this organ is particularly vulnerable to a breakdown in protection systems.

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