Author: Wilbrecht
-
Does puberty mark a transition in sensitive periods for plasticity in the associative neocortex?
Postnatal brain development is studded with sensitive periods during which experience dependent plasticity is enhanced. This enables rapid learning from environmental inputs and reorganization of cortical circuits that matches behavior with environmental contingencies. Significant headway has been achieved in characterizing and understanding sensitive period biology in primary sensory cortices, but relatively little is known about…
-
David Piekarski Receives New Investigator Award at SBN
David Piekarski was recently granted the New Investigator Award at the 2016 Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology (SBN) meeting in Montreal.
-
Gopnik on Maternal Separation
My colleague Professor Alison Gopnik discusses the Wilbrecht Lab’s work in the Wall Street Journal this week. Gopnik’s article covers two experiments from the Lab–our 2011 paper on juvenile mice and reversal learning, and our 2015 maternal separation and flexibility paper. Young Mice, Like Children, Can Grow Up Too Fast Is it good to grow…
-
News Coverage on Nature Comms Article
Christopher Bergland, How Does Your Brain Learn Through Trial and Error? Problem-solving and critical thinking can rewire the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), Psychology Today, Mar. 6, 2016. In a groundbreaking discovery, neurocientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have captured brain images of active learning in real-time by photographing the brains of mice as they learn how-to…
-
Long-range orbitofrontal and amygdala axons show divergent patterns of maturation in the frontal cortex across adolescence
The adolescent transition from juvenile to adult is marked by anatomical and functional remodeling of brain networks. Currently, the cellular and synaptic level changes underlying the adolescent transition are only coarsely understood. Here, we use two-photon imaging to make time-lapse observations of long-range axons that innervate the frontal cortex in the living brain. We labeled…
-
Rule learning enhances structural plasticity of long range axons in frontal cortex
Rules encompass cue-action-outcome associations used to guide decisions and strategies in a specific context. Subregions of the frontal cortex including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) are implicated in rule learning, although changes in structural connectivity underlying rule learning are poorly understood. We imaged OFC axonal projections to dmPFC during training in…
-
Cell-Type-Specific Control of Brainstem Locomotor Circuits by Basal Ganglia
The basal ganglia (BG) are critical for adaptive motor control, but the circuit principles underlying their pathway-specific modulation of target regions are not well understood. Here, we dissect the mechanisms underlying BG direct and indirect pathway-mediated control of the mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR), a brainstem target of BG that is critical for locomotion. We optogenetically dissect…
-
Early maternal separation impacts cognitive flexibility at the age of first independence in mice
Early life adversity is associated with increased risk for mental and physical health problems, including substance abuse. Changes in neural development caused by early life insults could cause or complicate these conditions. Maternal separation (MS) is a model of early adversity for rodents. Clear effects of MS have been shown on behavioral flexibility in rats,…
-
News Coverage
The Wilbrecht Lab’s recent paper appearing in Neuropharmacology, Brief cognitive training interventions in young adulthood promote long-term resilience to drug-seeking behavior, has attracted some news attention: Addiction Isn’t Hardwired: Intellectual Pursuits May Buffer Brain Against Addiction, Science 2.0, July 23, 2015. Kayla Kettmann, UC Berkeley researchers find connection between lack of mental stimulation, addiction, The…
-
The BDNF Val68 to Met Polymorphism Increases Compulsive Alcohol Drinking In Mice Which Is Reversed By TrkB Activation
Background The Val66 to Met polymorphism within the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) sequence reduces activity-dependent BDNF release, and is associated with psychiatric disorders in humans. Alcoholism is one of the most prevalent psychiatric diseases. Here, we tested the hypothesis that this polymorphism increases the severity of alcohol abuse disorders. Methods We generated transgenic mice carrying…