{"632253":{"#nid":"632253","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Human Brain\u2019s Meticulous Interface with the Bloodstream now on a Precision Chip","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA scrupulous gatekeeper stands between the brain and its circulatory system to let in the good and keep out the bad, but this porter, called the blood-brain barrier, also blocks trial drugs to treat diseases like Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s or cancer from getting into the brain.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENow a team led by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology has engineered a way of studying the barrier more closely with the intent of helping drug developers do the same.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-019-13896-7\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EIn a new study\u003C\/a\u003E, the researchers cultured the human blood-brain barrier on a chip, recreating its physiology more realistically than predecessor chips.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe new chip devised a healthy environment for the barrier\u0026rsquo;s central component, a brain cell called the astrocyte, which is not a neuron, but which acts as neurons\u0026rsquo; intercessors with the circulatory system. Astrocytes interface in human brains with cells in the vasculature called endothelial cells to collaborate with them as the blood-brain barrier.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBut astrocytes are a particularly fussy partner, which makes them a great part of the gatekeeper system but also challenging to culture in a physiologically accurate manner. The new chip catered to astrocytes\u0026rsquo; sensibilities by culturing in 3D instead of in a flat manner, or 2D.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe 3D space allowed astrocytes to act more naturally, and this improved the whole barrier model by also allowing cultured endothelial cells to function better. The new chip presented researchers with more healthy blood-brain barrier functions to observe than in previous barrier models.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026lsquo;Astro\u0026rsquo; in astrocyte\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;You need to be able to closely mimic a tissue on a chip in a healthy status and in homeostasis. If we can\u0026rsquo;t model the healthy state, we can\u0026rsquo;t really model disease either, because we have no accurate control to measure it against,\u0026rdquo; said YongTae Kim,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/kim\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ean associate professor in Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and the study\u0026rsquo;s principal investigator.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the new chip, the astrocytes even looked more natural in the 3D space, unfolding the star-like shape that gives them their \u0026ldquo;astro\u0026rdquo; name. In the 2D cultures, by contrast, astrocytes looked like fried eggs with fringes. With this 3D setting, the chip has added possibilities for reliable research of the human blood-brain barrier, where currently alternatives are few.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;No animal model comes close enough to the intricate function of the human blood-brain barrier. And we need better human models because experimental drugs that have successfully entered animal brains have failed at the human barrier,\u0026rdquo; Kim said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe team\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-019-13896-7\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Epublished its results on January 10, 2020, in the journal\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ENature Communications\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Kim has founded a company with plans to mass-produce the new chip in the future for use in academic and potentially pharmaceutical research.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Csup\u003E\u003Cem\u003E[Ready for graduate school?\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gradadmiss.gatech.edu\/apply-now\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EHere\u0026#39;s how to apply to Georgia Tech.\u003C\/a\u003E]\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChoosy, bossy astrocytes\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe brain is the only part of the body outfitted with astrocytes, which regulate nourishment uptake and waste removal in their own, unique way.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Upon the brain\u0026rsquo;s request, astrocytes collaborate with the vasculature in real-time what the brain needs and opens its gates to let in only that bit of water and nutrients. Astrocytes go to get just what the brain needs and don\u0026rsquo;t let much else in,\u0026rdquo; Kim said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAstrocytes form a protein structure called aquaporin-4 in their membranes that are in contact with vasculature to let in and out water molecules, which also contributes to clearing waste from the brain.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;In previous chips, aquaporin-4 expression was not observed. This chip was the first,\u0026rdquo; Kim said. \u0026ldquo;This could be important in researching Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s disease because aquaporin-4 is important to clearing broken-down junk protein out of the brain.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the study\u0026rsquo;s co-authors,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/neurology.emory.edu\/faculty\/cognitive\/levey_allan.html\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EDr. Allan Levey\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;from Emory University, a\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=zqflO6UAAAAJ\u0026amp;hl=en\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehighly cited researcher\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;in neurological medicine, is interested in the chip\u0026rsquo;s potential in tackling Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s. Another,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/winshipcancer.emory.edu\/bios\/faculty\/macdonald-tobey-j.html\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EDr. Tobey McDonald\u003C\/a\u003E, also of Emory, researches pediatric brain cancer and is interested in the chip\u0026rsquo;s possibilities in studying the delivery of potential brain cancer treatments.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarrier acting healthy\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAstrocytes also gave signs that they were healthier in the chip\u0026rsquo;s 3D cultures than in 2D cultures by expressing less of a gene triggered by pathology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Astrocytes in 2D culture expressed significantly higher levels of LCN2 than those in 3D. When we cultured in 3D, it was only about one fourth as much,\u0026rdquo; Kim said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe healthier state also made astrocytes better able to show an immune reaction.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;When we purposely confronted the astrocyte with pathological stress in a 3D culture, we got a clearer reaction. In 2D, the ground state was already less healthy, and then the reaction to pathological stresses did not come across so clearly. This difference could make the 3D culture very interesting for pathology studies.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENanoparticle delivery\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn testing related to drug delivery, nanoparticles moved through the blood-brain-barrier after engaging endothelial cell receptors, which caused these cells to engulf the particles then transport them to what would be inside the human brain in a natural setting. This is part of how endothelial cells worked better when connected to astrocytes cultured in 3D.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;When we inhibited the receptor, the majority of nanoparticles wouldn\u0026rsquo;t make it in. That kind of test would not work in animal models because of cross-species inaccuracies between animals and humans,\u0026rdquo; Kim said. \u0026ldquo;This was an example of how this new chip can let you study the human blood-brain barrier for potential drug delivery the way you can\u0026rsquo;t in animal models.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAlso Read:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rh.gatech.edu\/news\/632029\/flickering-light-mobilizes-brain-chemistry-may-fight-alzheimers\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EFlickering Light Mobilizes Brain Chemistry That May Fight Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThese researchers also coauthored the study: Song Ih Ahn, Yoshitaka Sei, Hyun-Ji Park, Jinhwan Kim, Yujung Ryu, and Jeongmoon Choi, and Hak-Joon Sung of Georgia Tech. The research was funded by National Institutes of Health\u0026rsquo;s Director\u0026rsquo;s New Innovator Award (1DP2HL142050), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (grant R21NS091682), and the National Institutes on Aging (grant R21AG056781). Tony Kim is also affiliated with Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/Tony-Kim\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E, Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/petitinstitute.gatech.edu\/yongtae-kim\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u0026nbsp;Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E, and Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ien.gatech.edu\/news\/professor-tony-kim-receives-aha-award-further-research-ending-heart-disease\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EInstitute for Electronics and\u0026nbsp;Nanotechnology\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E. Any findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and not necessarily of the National Institutes of Health.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter \u0026amp;\u0026nbsp;Media Representative\u003C\/strong\u003E: Ben Brumfield (404-272-2780), email:\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"This new human blood-brain barrier on a chip gets its surprising edge by giving astrocytes 3D living space"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt can be the bain of brain drug developers: The interface between the human brain and the bloodstream, the blood-brain-barrier, is so meticulous that animal models often fail to represent it. This improved chip represents important features more accurately.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"This blood-brain barrier on a chip represents important features more accurately than animal models and previous chips"}],"uid":"31759","created_gmt":"2020-02-10 17:31:38","changed_gmt":"2020-02-19 12:08:28","author":"Ben Brumfield","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-02-10T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2020-02-10T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"632250":{"id":"632250","type":"image","title":"Blood-brain barrier on a chip","body":null,"created":"1581354402","gmt_created":"2020-02-10 17:06:42","changed":"1581354402","gmt_changed":"2020-02-10 17:06:42","alt":"","file":{"fid":"240557","name":"BBB.chip_.close_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/BBB.chip_.close_.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/BBB.chip_.close_.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":284171,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/BBB.chip_.close_.jpg?itok=RThaeC_K"}},"632251":{"id":"632251","type":"image","title":"Blood-brain barrier on a chip illustration","body":null,"created":"1581354551","gmt_created":"2020-02-10 17:09:11","changed":"1581354551","gmt_changed":"2020-02-10 17:09:11","alt":"","file":{"fid":"240558","name":"BBB.chip_.illustration.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/BBB.chip_.illustration.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/BBB.chip_.illustration.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":753518,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/BBB.chip_.illustration.jpg?itok=lvXeNQHW"}},"632252":{"id":"632252","type":"image","title":"Blood-brain barrier illustration in natural setting","body":null,"created":"1581354910","gmt_created":"2020-02-10 17:15:10","changed":"1581354910","gmt_changed":"2020-02-10 17:15:10","alt":"","file":{"fid":"240559","name":"BBB.illustration.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/BBB.illustration.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/BBB.illustration.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":789534,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/BBB.illustration.jpg?itok=8OaD5xXt"}},"596965":{"id":"596965","type":"image","title":"YongTae Kim holds up microfluidic chip","body":null,"created":"1507148501","gmt_created":"2017-10-04 20:21:41","changed":"1581356402","gmt_changed":"2020-02-10 17:40:02","alt":"","file":{"fid":"227527","name":"Kim.chip_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Kim.chip_.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Kim.chip_.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":276330,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Kim.chip_.jpg?itok=m8C-4Lp_"}}},"media_ids":["632250","632251","632252","596965"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"178946","name":"blood-brain barrier"},{"id":"178102","name":"astrocyte"},{"id":"6251","name":"endothelial cells"},{"id":"28531","name":"Brain Cancer Therapy"},{"id":"183798","name":"Alzheimer\u0027s disease research"},{"id":"183908","name":"Organ On A Chip"},{"id":"183909","name":"Aquaporin"},{"id":"183910","name":"nanoparticle drug delivery"},{"id":"183911","name":"3D culture"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"632029":{"#nid":"632029","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Flickering Light Mobilizes Brain Chemistry That May Fight Alzheimer\u2019s","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor over a century, Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s disease has confounded all attempts to treat it. But in recent years, perplexing experiments using flickering light have shown promise.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, researchers have tapped into how the flicker may work. They discovered in the lab that the exposure to light pulsing at 40 hertz \u0026ndash; 40 beats per second \u0026ndash; causes brains to release a surge of signaling chemicals that may help fight the disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThough conducted on healthy mice,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.jneurosci.org\/content\/early\/2019\/12\/18\/JNEUROSCI.1511-19.2019\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ethis new study\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;is directly connected to human trials, in which Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s patients are exposed to 40 Hz light and sound. Insights gained in mice at the Georgia Institute of Technology are informing the human trials in collaboration with Emory University.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;ll be running samples from mice in the lab, and around the same time, a colleague will be doing a strikingly similar analysis on patient fluid samples,\u0026rdquo; said Kristie Garza, the study\u0026rsquo;s first author. Garza is a graduate research assistant in the lab of Annabelle Singer at Georgia Tech and also a member of Emory\u0026rsquo;s neuroscience program.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the surging signaling molecules in the new study on mice\u0026nbsp;is strongly associated with the activation of brain immune cells called microglia, which purge an Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s hallmark \u0026ndash; amyloid beta plaque, junk protein that accumulates between brain cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EImmune signaling\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2016, researchers discovered that light flickering at 40 Hz mobilized microglia in mice afflicted with Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s to clean up that junk.\u0026nbsp; The new study looked for brain chemistry that connects the flicker with microglial and other immune activation in mice and exposed a surge of 20 cytokines \u0026ndash; small proteins secreted externally by cells and which signal to other cells. Accompanying the cytokine release, internal cell chemistry \u0026ndash; the activation of proteins by phosphate groups \u0026ndash; left behind a strong calling card.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The phosphoproteins showed up first. It looked as though they were leading, and our hypothesis is that they triggered the release of the cytokines,\u0026rdquo; said Singer, who co-led the new study and is an\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/Annabelle-Singer\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eassistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Beyond cytokines that may be signaling to microglia, a number of factors that we identified have the potential to support neural health,\u0026rdquo; said Levi Wood, who co-led the study with Singer and is an\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/wood\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eassistant professor in Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe team published\u0026nbsp;its findings\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.jneurosci.org\/content\/early\/2019\/12\/18\/JNEUROSCI.1511-19.2019\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ein the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EJournal of Neuroscience\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;on February 5, 2020\u003C\/a\u003E. The research was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health, and by the Packard Foundation.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESinger was co-first author on\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/news.mit.edu\/2016\/visual-stimulation-treatment-alzheimer-1207\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ethe original 2016 study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology\u003C\/a\u003E, in which the therapeutic effects of 40 Hz were first discovered in mice.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESci-fi surrealness\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlzheimer\u0026rsquo;s strikes, with few exceptions, late in life. It\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nia.nih.gov\/health\/alzheimers-disease-fact-sheet#changes\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Edestroys up to 30% of a brain\u0026rsquo;s mass\u003C\/a\u003E, carving out ravines and depositing piles of amyloid plaque, which builds up outside of neurons. Inside neurons, phosphorylated\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tau_protein\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Etau protein\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;forms similar junk known as\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Neurofibrillary_tangle\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eneurofibrillary tangles\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;suspected of destroying mental functions and neurons.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter many decades of failed Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s drug trials costing billions, flickering light as a potentially successful Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s therapy seems surreal even to the researchers.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Sometimes it does feel like science fiction,\u0026rdquo; Singer said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe 40 Hz frequency stems from the observation that brains of Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s patients suffer early on from a lack of what is called gamma, moments of gentle, constant brain waves acting like a dance beat for neuron activity. Its most common frequency is right around 40 Hz, and exposing mice to light flickering at that frequency restored gamma and also appears to have prevented heavy Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s brain damage.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAdding to the surrealness, gamma has also been associated with esoteric mind expansion practices, in which practitioners perform light and sound meditation. Then, in 2016, research connected gamma to working memory, a function key to train of thought.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECytokine bonanza\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the current study, the surging cytokines hinted at a connection with microglial activity, and in particular, the cytokine\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology\/macrophage-colony-stimulating-factor\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMacrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(M-CSF).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;M-CSF was the thing that yelled, \u0026lsquo;Microglia activation!\u0026rsquo;\u0026rdquo; Singer said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers will look for a causal connection to microglia activation in an upcoming study, but the overall surge of cytokines was a good sign in general, they said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The vast majority of cytokines went up, some anti-inflammatory and some inflammatory, and it was a transient response,\u0026rdquo; Wood said. \u0026ldquo;Often, a transient inflammatory response can promote pathogen clearance; it can promote repair.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Generally, you think of an inflammatory response as being bad if it\u0026rsquo;s chronic, and this was rapid and then dropped off, so we think that was probably beneficial,\u0026rdquo; Singer added.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChemical timing\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe 40 Hz stimulation did not need long to trigger the cytokine surge.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We found an increase in cytokines after an hour of stimulation,\u0026rdquo; Garza said. \u0026ldquo;We saw phosphoprotein signals after about 15 minutes of flickering.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPerhaps about 15 minutes was enough to start processes inside of cells and about 45 more minutes were needed for the cells to secrete cytokines. It is too early to know.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E20 Hz bombshell\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs controls, the researchers applied three additional light stimuli, and to their astonishment, all three had some effect on cytokines. But stimulating with 20 Hz stole the show.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;At 20 Hz, cytokine levels were way down. That could be useful, too. There may be circumstances where you want to suppress cytokines,\u0026rdquo; Singer said. \u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;re thinking different kinds of stimulation could potentially become a platform of tools in a variety of contexts like Parkinson\u0026rsquo;s or schizophrenia. Many neurological disorders are associated with immune response.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research team warns against people improvising light therapies on their own, since more data is needed to thoroughly establish effects on humans, and getting frequencies wrong could possibly even do damage.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAlso read: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rh.gatech.edu\/features\/alzheimers-killing-mind-first\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;A family coping with Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s leads you through our fight against it\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAlso read: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rh.gatech.edu\/news\/602586\/data-detectives-shift-suspicions-alzheimers-usual-suspect-inside-villain\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s research probably needs to shift focus\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELu Zhang and Ben Borron\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cem\u003Efrom the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University co-authored the study. The research was funded by the\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cem\u003ENational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health (grants NIH R01-NS109226 and R01-NS109226-01S1), by the Packard Foundation, the Friends and Alumni of Georgia Tech, and by the Lane family. Any findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and not necessarily of the sponsors.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter \u0026amp;\u0026nbsp;Media Representative\u003C\/strong\u003E: Ben Brumfield (404-272-2780), email:\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe hope\u0026nbsp;of flickering light and sound to treat Alzheimer\u0026#39;s takes another step forward in this new study, which reveals stark biochemical mechanisms: 40 Hertz stimulation triggers a marked release of signaling chemicals - cytokines.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The hope of flickering light to treat Alzheimer\u0027s takes another step forward in this new study, which reveals stark biochemical mechanisms."}],"uid":"31759","created_gmt":"2020-02-03 16:08:02","changed_gmt":"2020-02-06 20:36:12","author":"Ben Brumfield","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2020-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"632025":{"id":"632025","type":"image","title":"Experimental Alzheimer\u0027s treatment visor and sound","body":null,"created":"1580745156","gmt_created":"2020-02-03 15:52:36","changed":"1580745156","gmt_changed":"2020-02-03 15:52:36","alt":"","file":{"fid":"240471","name":"Annabelle.visor_.CU_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Annabelle.visor_.CU_.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Annabelle.visor_.CU_.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4487860,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Annabelle.visor_.CU_.jpg?itok=3tFKJyHu"}},"632027":{"id":"632027","type":"image","title":"Flickering light strip for Alzheimer\u0027s studies on mice","body":null,"created":"1580745499","gmt_created":"2020-02-03 15:58:19","changed":"1580745499","gmt_changed":"2020-02-03 15:58:19","alt":"","file":{"fid":"240473","name":"Alzheimers.flicker.strip_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Alzheimers.flicker.strip_.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Alzheimers.flicker.strip_.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2901877,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Alzheimers.flicker.strip_.jpg?itok=Pec0iwaN"}},"632028":{"id":"632028","type":"image","title":"Alzheimer\u0027s 40 Hertz flicker researchers","body":null,"created":"1580745655","gmt_created":"2020-02-03 16:00:55","changed":"1580746597","gmt_changed":"2020-02-03 16:16:37","alt":"","file":{"fid":"240475","name":"Alz.visor_.researchers.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Alz.visor_.researchers.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Alz.visor_.researchers.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3970033,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Alz.visor_.researchers.jpg?itok=Jg_MozWy"}},"632026":{"id":"632026","type":"image","title":"Annabelle Singer with experimental Alzheimer\u0027s treatment visor","body":null,"created":"1580745355","gmt_created":"2020-02-03 15:55:55","changed":"1580745355","gmt_changed":"2020-02-03 15:55:55","alt":"","file":{"fid":"240472","name":"A.Singer.visor_.lab_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/A.Singer.visor_.lab_.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/A.Singer.visor_.lab_.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3918230,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/A.Singer.visor_.lab_.jpg?itok=Qxrxn0Kp"}}},"media_ids":["632025","632027","632028","632026"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"44881","name":"Alzheimer\u0027s Disease"},{"id":"183798","name":"Alzheimer\u0027s disease research"},{"id":"183799","name":"Gamma"},{"id":"183800","name":"gamma band activity"},{"id":"183801","name":"40 Hertz"},{"id":"183802","name":"Flicker"},{"id":"176724","name":"signaling chemicals"},{"id":"183803","name":"signaling molecule"},{"id":"176725","name":"signaling mechanism"},{"id":"183804","name":"Signaling Pathways"},{"id":"183805","name":"Microglia"},{"id":"183806","name":"Amyloid Beta"},{"id":"183807","name":"amyloid aggragates"},{"id":"177151","name":"amyloid beta plaque"},{"id":"183808","name":"amyloid beta protein"},{"id":"177154","name":"p-tau"},{"id":"10963","name":"cytokines"},{"id":"183809","name":"cytokine regulation"},{"id":"183810","name":"cytokine research"},{"id":"183811","name":"Cytokinesis"},{"id":"183812","name":"immune activation"},{"id":"183813","name":"immune signaling"},{"id":"183814","name":"Immune biology"},{"id":"1304","name":"neuroscience"},{"id":"183815","name":"phosphoproteins"},{"id":"183816","name":"Phosphate"},{"id":"183817","name":"phosphate activation"},{"id":"183818","name":"Tau Proteins"},{"id":"177161","name":"neurofibrillary tangles"},{"id":"183819","name":"microphage"},{"id":"183820","name":"M-CSF"},{"id":"183821","name":"microphage colony-stimulating factor"},{"id":"170569","name":"schizophrenia"},{"id":"183822","name":"Schizophrenia research"},{"id":"183823","name":"Schizophrenia Treatment"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"625697":{"#nid":"625697","#data":{"type":"news","title":"An Improved Understanding of Spasticity Using the Pendulum Test","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESpasticity is a condition in which muscles are contract strongly, resulting\u0026nbsp;stiffness or tightness, and quite often, pain. Usually caused by damage to the brain or spinal cord, it\u0026rsquo;s particularly common in people with neurological maladies like cerebral palsy or stroke.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of physical disability in children in most developed countries, and spastic CP is the most common form of the disorder. For these patients (and others), spasticity can be severely debilitating, negatively impacting their movement, speech, gait, and overall quality of life.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe lab of \u003Cstrong\u003ELena Ting\u003C\/strong\u003E, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory, and in the Division of Physical Therapy in Emory\u0026rsquo;s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, is tackling the problem, shedding new light on issues underlying spasticity.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETing\u0026rsquo;s lab is part of an international collaborative effort with a recently published research article in the open access scientific journal, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0205763\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPLOS One\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E. \u003C\/em\u003EShe is corresponding author of, \u0026ldquo;Interaction between muscle tone, short-range stiffness and increased sensory feedback\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Egains explains key kinematic features of the pendulum test in spastic cerebral palsy: A\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Esimulation study.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe pendulum test is a sensitive clinical assessment of spasticity in which the lower leg is\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Edropped from the horizontal position and the features of leg motion are recorded. \u0026ldquo;This problem actually arose out of a homework problem for my Computational Neuromechanics class, where we simulate the leg as a pendulum,\u0026rdquo; said Ting.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn typically-developed people, the swinging leg behaves like a damped pendulum, with the angle of leg swing decreasing as it oscillates several times before coming to rest. In children with spastic CP, three key differences in the leg motion are observed: Reduced angle of leg swing in the first oscillation, \u0026nbsp;fewer oscillations, and the coming to rest at a less vertical angle.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOverall, the decrease in the first swing has been found to be the best predictor of spasticity severity, but why this is the case is has not been clear. Ting\u0026rsquo;s team hypothesized that increased muscle tone\u0026ndash; the continual contraction of muscles while at rest\u0026shy;\u0026ndash;accounts for both the reduced leg swing and the non-vertical resting leg angle. This idea contrasts with the clinical explanation of spasticity as an abnormal increase in the activation of reflexes as the leg is stretched with higher velocities.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;We were stumped because the clinical explanation of increased velocity-dependent reflexes didn\u0026rsquo;t generate realistic motion,\u0026rdquo; Ting said. \u0026ldquo;But we happened to be working on a different research project studying an interesting property of muscles called short-range stiffness, which increases when muscles are activated. We wanted to know if this very rapid rise and drop of resistive force in muscles when they are stretched could explain the parts of the pendulum test that were giving us a hard time in the simulation.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESo the researchers developed and tested a physiologically-plausible computer simulation of how muscle tone and reflexes would interact to reproduce key features of the pendulum test for spasticity across a range of severity levels. Their new model helps to explain a whole range of pendulum test kinematics in people with and without CP.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Increased muscle tone plays a primary role in generating a key feature of the leg motion that is most closely related to the level of spasticity,\u0026rdquo; Ting explained. \u0026ldquo;Even when reflexes are increased,\u0026nbsp; can only account for pendulum test results across the spectrum of spasticity severity if we also increase muscle tone and short-range stiffness. This is exciting because the pendulum test is more objective than a clinician\u0026rsquo;s subjective assessment of leg stiffness. And with our model we can now begin to understand how multiple mechanisms of spasticity might interact to cause abnormal body motion, not just in the pendulum test, but in everyday movements.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELead author of the paper was Friedl De Groote, assistant professor in the Department of Movement Sciences at KU Leuven in Belgium. Other authors were both researchers from Ting\u0026rsquo;s lab, Kyle Blum and Brian Horslen.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"New model lends additional insight into physiological mechanisms of spasticity in cerebral palsy  "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENew model lends additional insight into physiological mechanisms of spasticity in cerebral palsy\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New model lends additional insight into physiological mechanisms of spasticity in cerebral palsy  "}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2019-09-05 17:46:17","changed_gmt":"2019-09-05 17:49:04","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-09-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2019-09-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"625694":{"id":"625694","type":"image","title":"Lena Ting","body":null,"created":"1567705364","gmt_created":"2019-09-05 17:42:44","changed":"1567705364","gmt_changed":"2019-09-05 17:42:44","alt":"","file":{"fid":"238206","name":"Lena Ting-cropped (1).jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Lena%20Ting-cropped%20%281%29.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Lena%20Ting-cropped%20%281%29.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":467333,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Lena%20Ting-cropped%20%281%29.jpg?itok=RAO2e43f"}},"625695":{"id":"625695","type":"image","title":"Pendulum","body":null,"created":"1567705416","gmt_created":"2019-09-05 17:43:36","changed":"1567705416","gmt_changed":"2019-09-05 17:43:36","alt":"","file":{"fid":"238207","name":"PendulumTest-Lena-Lab-IMG_4895-export.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/PendulumTest-Lena-Lab-IMG_4895-export.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/PendulumTest-Lena-Lab-IMG_4895-export.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1814418,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/PendulumTest-Lena-Lab-IMG_4895-export.jpg?itok=-sXsi9oX"}}},"media_ids":["625694","625695"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"},{"id":"171587","name":"cerebral palsy"},{"id":"182233","name":"pendulum test"},{"id":"1612","name":"BME"},{"id":"2266","name":"Lena Ting"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"625023":{"#nid":"625023","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Cassie Mitchell Receives 2019 Award from the American Neurological Association ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe American Neurological Association (ANA), the professional organization representing the nation\u0026rsquo;s top academic neurologists and neuroscientists, has announced the winners of its \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/myana.org\/publications\/news\/american-neurological-association-announces-recipients-2019-awards-outstanding\u0022\u003E2019 scientific awards\u003C\/a\u003E, to be presented at the 144th ANA Annual Meeting, to be held at the Marriott St. Louis Grand, October 13-15, 2019. The awards recognize leaders in academic neurology and neuroscience who have exemplified excellence in research, teaching, and clinical practice across the gamut of clinical neurology and neuroscience disciplines.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This year\u0026rsquo;s awardees reflect the cutting\u0026ndash;edge research being done at every career stage across neurology and neuroscience,\u0026rdquo; said \u003Cstrong\u003EDavid M. Holtzman\u003C\/strong\u003E, MD, president of the ANA and Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and Chairman, Dept. of Neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine. \u0026ldquo;The pace of advances we\u0026rsquo;re seeing in translational neuroscience and the neurobiology of disease are extraordinary. We hope the gains will inspire the new generation of physician scientists to pursue careers that combine research and teaching with clinical practice. There has never been a more exciting time to work in academic neurology.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEach year, the ANA Annual Meeting convenes more than 900 of the nation\u0026#39;s top academic neurologists and neuroscientists to share updates and late-breaking research on the diseases that affect more than 100 million Americans each year including stroke, Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s disease, Parkinson\u0026rsquo;s disease, neuromuscular disorders, headache, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and more.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDerek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholars \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Awards are clinical awards given each year during the Annual Meeting to new members of the association who have achieved significant stature in neurological research, and who show promise and will continue making major contributions to the field of neurology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Award in Neuroscience went to \u003Cstrong\u003ECassie S. Mitchell\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology. Her presentation title: Literature-based discovery facilitates predictive medicine for neurological disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFull list of ANA 2019 \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/myana.org\/publications\/news\/american-neurological-association-announces-recipients-2019-awards-outstanding\u0022\u003Ewinners\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Awards recognize work in the genetics of Alzheimer\u2019s disease, the microbiome and stroke, clinical trial design, and more"}],"uid":"27513","created_gmt":"2019-08-22 18:01:52","changed_gmt":"2019-08-27 18:09:52","author":"Walter Rich","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-08-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2019-08-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"611792":{"id":"611792","type":"image","title":"Cassie Mitchell, Ph.D.","body":null,"created":"1537544798","gmt_created":"2018-09-21 15:46:38","changed":"1566497036","gmt_changed":"2019-08-22 18:03:56","alt":"Cassie Mitchell, assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.","file":{"fid":"232913","name":"17C10203-P2-002.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/17C10203-P2-002.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/17C10203-P2-002.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":380671,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/17C10203-P2-002.jpg?itok=eiYYxVf6"}}},"media_ids":["611792"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1612","name":"BME"},{"id":"23101","name":"cassie mitchell"},{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["wrich@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"624928":{"#nid":"624928","#data":{"type":"news","title":"NIH Award Supports Groundbreaking Brain Research at Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe inner-workings of the neural circuitry that underlies brain function is better understood today thanks to recent technological advances developing new tools that increasingly peel back the mysteries of the three pounds of gray tissue between our ears. Still, the neural circuits whose dysfunction lead to disorders like epilepsy, Parkinson\u0026rsquo;s disease, and depression (among others) remain shrouded and difficult to study and model, because of their complex network of interconnections and loops.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBut a team of researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology wants develop intelligent closed-loop algorithms for turning measurements into precise actions in real time \u0026ndash; kind of like those used in technologies such as self-driving cars and robotics.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Intelligent algorithms for interacting with the brain holds promise to help us alleviate diseases with no current treatments, as well as better understanding the basis of human intelligence,\u0026rdquo; says \u003Cstrong\u003EChris Rozell\u003C\/strong\u003E, professor in Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who is leading the study with \u003Cstrong\u003EGarrett Stanley\u003C\/strong\u003E, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Both are researchers in the the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech, where Rozell also is a member of the Center for Machine Learning and Stanley is co-director of the Neural Engineering Center.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETheir project just received a $1.6 million, five-year award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)\/National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and stroke (NINDS) through a long-standing and innovative NSF\/NIH partnership in the Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience (CRCNS) program. The project leverages neurotechnology and engineering advances to pioneer a nascent field, closed-loop computational neuroscience.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;There has been an explosion of remarkable advances in both neuroengineering and machine learning, making the intersection of these fields one of the most exciting frontiers I can imagine,\u0026rdquo; adds Rozell. \u0026ldquo;I am excited that this collaborative project will allow us to pioneer these interactive neurotechnology advances.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERather than just analyzing data after an experiment, the team\u0026rsquo;s integrative approach will develop real-time algorithms that operate as a type of autopilot for a neural circuit, \u0026ldquo;where we can lock in a precise response, regardless of surrounding activity,\u0026rdquo; Rozell says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe five-year project, called \u0026ldquo;Closed-Loop Computational Neuroscience for Causally Dissecting Circuits,\u0026rdquo; will build on the theory, methods, and findings of engineering, \u0026nbsp;computer science, neuroscience, and other disciplines (machine learning and genetics, for example). Through the CRCNS program, the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health (along with several international partners) support collaborative activities designed to advance understanding of nervous system structure and function, the mechanisms underlying nervous system disorders, and the computational strategies used by the nervous system.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The advances in tools that we and others have made in precisely measuring and manipulating neurons and neural circuits now make it possible to read \u003Cem\u003Eand\u003C\/em\u003E write brain activity at the same time, and communicate with the brain in the fast timescale on which it operates,\u0026rdquo; says Stanley, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. \u0026ldquo;We think this is a game-changer, experimentally and computationally.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Rozell and Stanley leading five-year, $1.6 million study to develop new algorithms to interact with neural circuitry"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERozell and Stanley leading five-year, $1.6 million study to develop new algorithms to interact with neural circuitry\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Rozell and Stanley leading five-year, $1.6 million study to develop new algorithms to interact with neural circuitry"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2019-08-21 18:24:48","changed_gmt":"2019-09-04 15:49:47","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-08-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2019-08-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"624927":{"id":"624927","type":"image","title":"Stanley and Rozell","body":null,"created":"1566411708","gmt_created":"2019-08-21 18:21:48","changed":"1566411708","gmt_changed":"2019-08-21 18:21:48","alt":"","file":{"fid":"237935","name":"rozell and stanley.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rozell%20and%20stanley.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rozell%20and%20stanley.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":526891,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/rozell%20and%20stanley.jpg?itok=dKoNhvsj"}}},"media_ids":["624927"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"111361","name":"BRAIN initiative"},{"id":"5443","name":"Neuroengineering"},{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}