Plasticity and Promise: A New Era in Brain Research and Psychiatry

Dolores Malaspina, MD, MSPHAnita Steckler & Joseph Steckler Professor of Psychiatry

Institute for Social and Psychiatric Initiatives:Research, Education and Services

NYU Langone Medical Center

Translational Neuroscience Research

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Age of motherAge of father

Basic Science Animal Models

Epidemiology

Clinical Research

Jerusalem Birth CohortAnimal ModelMice with older sires

have impaired learning

Epidemiology Study

NIH funded Genetic Study in Israel

Psychiatric hospital patients in Jerusalem

Translational Research Example in Schizophrenia

Clinical ResearchNYU Challenge Grant-

Define the clinical features, brain changes and best

treatment for this subtype

Lamarck

Watson and Crick 1953

Genetics Epigenetics

Epigenetic mechanisms:- change gene expression without changing DNA sequence.-transmit information to descendents to best adapt their physiology to the expected environment.

messenger RNA

No message

large amounts of protein

no protein

Epigenetic regulation of gene activity

Scenario ‘B’ Scenario ‘A’

Risk for Disease

Adult Phenotype

Birth Phenotype

Postnatal Environment

GENES

EPIGENETIC CHANGES

History of the Population

INTERGENERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

MATCH ?

Epigenetic effects: intergenerational influences, prenatal environment and life course potential for plasticity

Prenatal Environment

fetal programming

Increased by exercise

Brain cells are replenished throughout life in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus

Decreased by stress

Imaging Neurogenesis?We have imaged the dentate gyrus image using the NYU 7T MRI

The dentate is 10 times smaller than the width of a human hair

Neurogenesis also ongoing in brain olfactory regions

Olfactory bulb

Neurons from scrapings at the top of the nose can be cultured and

used for genetic study.

They have the potential to made into stem cells

Olfactory epithelium

In response to an earlier article :

“Understanding the Anxious Mind”

By Robin Marantz HenigNY Times Magazine

October 4, 2009

Translating science to the public: letter to the editor: NY Times Magazine October 18, 2009