Neurological and Behavioral Disorders

Mouse model of epilepsy may yield insights into relationship between seizures and reproductive cycle in women

2020-12-10

Recent research from Professor Catherine Christian-Hinman in the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology has identified an animal model capable of modeling some aspects of catamenial epilepsy without hormone treatments, creating exciting possibilities in the field for advancement in...

Using magnetic resonance elastography to detect epilepsy

2020-09-08

A new study uses magnetic resonance elastography to compare the stiffness of the hippocampus in patients who have epilepsy with healthy individuals. The technique can improve the detection and characterization of the disease.

Researchers find mutation hotspots for severe form of genetic epilepsy that give insights into the underlying pathogenesis

2020-05-06

The lab of Hee Jung Chung, Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, recently released a paper in Scientific Reports titled “Identifying mutation hotspots reveals pathogenetic mechanisms of KCNQ2 epileptic encephalopathy” to help fill in the gaps in our...

Study reveals neuronal response following chronic activation of an epilepsy- and autism-linked receptor

2020-03-30

First author Dai-Chi Liu alongside Dr. Nien-Pei Tsai.

Group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors (Gp1 mGluRs) are essential for neuroplasticity, neurodevelopment and cognition, but chronically active Gp1 mGluRs has been linked to many pathologic conditions including epilepsy and autism spectrum disorders. To characterize the effects of chronically...

Meet MCB: Professor Dan Llano

2019-12-31

Professor Daniel Llano is a neurologist at the Carle Neuroscience Institute and has been a faculty member in the MIP department since 2010. He obtained his BS, PhD, and MD at UIUC before moving to Massachusetts to pursue his clinical training at Harvard Medical School. He later became a post-...

Study: Heterozygous loss of KCNQ2 potassium channel gene induces autism-associated behaviors

2019-08-21

Molecular and integrative physiology professor Hee Jung Chung, her postdoctoral fellow Eung Chang Kim, Psychology professor Justin Rhodes, and their colleagues discovered that heterozygous loss of KCNQ2 potassium channel gene induces autism-associated behaviors in mice including social avoidance,...

Christian Lab: Effects of epilepsy on neural activity in mice fluctuate with reproductive cycle, study finds

2018-10-14

Mice with epilepsy have altered patterns of neuron activity in the portion of the brain that controls the reproductive endocrine system, University of Illinois researchers report in a new study.

Study: Abnormal expression and phosphoinositide regulation of KCNQ/Kv7 channels linked to severe form of genetic epilepsy

2018-08-24

Molecular and integrative physiology professor Hee Jung Chung, postdoctoral fellow Eung Chang Kim, and their colleagues discovered that abnormal expression and phosphoinositide regulation of KCNQ/Kv7 potassium channels underlie neuronal hyperexcitability and injury in early-onset epileptic...

Study: Protein found to be key component in irregularly excited brain cells

2018-07-17

Research scientist Kwan Young Lee, molecular and integrative physiology professor Nien-Pei Tsai, and their colleagues discovered that an overabundance of the tumor suppressor protein p53 in neurons can lead to impaired regulation of neuronal excitability in a mouse model of Fragile X syndrome.

Chung Lab: Prolonged seizure activity causes caspase dependent cleavage and dysfunction of G-protein activated inwardly rectifying potassium channels.

2018-02-03

New findings suggest that novel down-regulation of GIRK channels by caspase-3 may contribute to NMDAR-dependent hippocampal atrophy following chronic epileptic seizures

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