Exceptional Science — An Einstein research paper, “REST-dependent Epigenetic Remodeling Promotes the Developmental Switch in Synaptic NMDA Receptors,”published in the October 2012 issue of Nature Neuroscience, has received an “exceptional” rating from the Faculty of 1000 (Neuroscience). Co-authored by Einstein investigators Dr. Alma Rodenas-Ruano, Dr. Andres Chavez-Navarrette, Maria Cossio, Dr. Pablo Castillo and Dr. R. Suzanne Zukin, the study observed the brain activity of rat pups that were separated from their mother for one hour per day. The researchers noted a series of changes that suggested a strengthening of connections between brain cells and enhanced plasticity, offering perspective on how adverse experience may alter gene expression in the brain. In identifying a pathway by which experience leads to functional changes in the brain, the study also provides insight into how environment alters development of the infant brain. These findings have striking implications for treatment of anxiety and post-traumatic stress associated with early maternal separation. The researchers are all members of the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience. Dr. Zukin is the F. M. Kirby Chair in Neural Repair and Protection and director of Einstein’s Neuropsychopharmacology Center. Dr. Castillo is a Harold and Muriel Block Chair of Neuroscience.
Posted on: Wednesday, August 21, 2013