Broadly speaking, research at the CRN has the following major goals: 1) to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of central nervous system (CNS) function, 2) to determine how the CNS is assembled during development and 3) to discover how it can be remodeled in response to injuries or disease. Here is a brief overview, but click here for more in-depth descriptions of the research being done in each CRN Research Lab.
- Growth and guidance of axons and dendrites
- Synapse formation
- Neuron-glial interactions
- Neurodegeneration and regeneration
- Synaptic plasticity and homeostasis
- Neural circuit assembly and function
- Behavior
- Advanced cellular and molecular approaches
- Classical and next-generation genetics
- Hi-resolution confocal and multi-photon imaging
- Opto-genetics
- Sophisticated electrophysiology
- Traumatic injuries to the brain or spinal cord
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Mental retardation
- Multiple sclerosis
- Epilepsy
- Stroke
- Addiction
- Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases
- Episodic ataxia
- Hemiplegic migraine
- Schizophrenia