Supported by a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the Auerbach Lab will examine how different genes associated with autism spectrum disorders may similarly impact our brain’s neurons, resulting in heightened sensitivity to sounds.  Autism spectrum disorders are genetically...

In a new study, University of Illinois scientists have shown how a specific group of neurons respond to information about an animal’s energy state and external challenges to regulate anxiety, fear, and similar behavior. The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest these...

Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology found that early exposure to an environmental chemical called polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, made it more difficult for mice to recover from sound-related trauma sustained later in life.

University of Illinois scientists have identified the phosphorylation site and its consequence on the function of MOV10, an RNA helicase expressed in early brain development and required for embryo viability, illuminating this RNA binding proteins’ relation to microRNA pathways and its effect on...

Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, the most common form of focal epilepsy, often have seizures that start from one side of the hippocampus and not the other. Such patients may also experience complications such as cognitive impairment and reproductive endocrine disruption. Although it’s been...

Researchers at the Beckman Institute developed a technique for producing super-resolution ultrasound images of tissue microvasculature in just a fraction of the time previously needed. Their work could enable future research into the neurovascular mechanisms behind conditions like Alzheimer’s...

Life is extraordinary. So is the work we do. In a brand new podcast series, Decoding Life with MCB, the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores the impact of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni in each episode.

A new study by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign suggests the overexpression of a particular gene could serve as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Their findings could also lead to better understandings of the links between Alzheimer’s disease, Fragile X Syndrome, and...

Researchers studying epileptic seizures of the temporal lobe – the most common type of epilepsy – discovered a compound that reduces seizures in the hippocampus, a brain region where many such seizures originate. The compound, known as TC-2153, lessened the severity of seizures in mice. The...

Meet MCB: Dr. Christian-Hinman’s lab focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms linking epilepsy and comorbid reproductive endocrine disorder.