How Do We Know What We Know?
The long-term goal of our laboratory is to understand the molecular, cellular, circuit and behavioral mechanisms of how we know what we know (check out our researchmaps!).
Much of our work is focused on a crucial and exciting component of this question: memory. We are also leveraging our studies of memory and extraordinary cognition to develop treatments for cognitive disorders.
Highlights
We are searching for the molecular, cellular and circuit processes that underlie the encoding, allocation, storage and linking of information in the brain.
Studies in our lab use state-of-the-art approaches such as optogenetics, circuit mapping, one and two-photon in vivo imaging, etc.
Insights into mechanisms of memory are being used to unravel the causes and develop treatments for cognitive deficits associated with aging, intellectual disabilities, and autism. Our studies in mice suggested that it is possible to reverse in adults neurodevelopmental disorders, such as intellectual disabilities associated with mutations in NF1, TSC and DISC1.
Studies of the mechanisms underlying extraordinary cognitive function are being used to develop general treatments for cognitive disorders and to accelerate recovery after brain injury.
The Silva laboratory is also developing bioinformatic strategies to address the growing complexity of the literature, including the development of a set of algorithms and a free web app (researchmaps.org) to track causal information in biology.
New From Our Lab!
A new Neuron paper reporting a retrograde mechanisms that coordinates memory ensembles across the brain (PDF). José Patricio Casanova and Gisella Vetere's Neuron Preview on the article (PDF). The PNAS News on this finding (PDF)
A new Neuron paper reporting the first neuromodulatory pathway specific to memory linking across time (PDF). Kaoru Inokuchi's and colleagues Neuron Preview on this article (link)
A new Nature paper showing that increases in CCR5 close the window for memory linking and are responsible for age-related loss of memory linking (PDF). Priya Rajasethupathy's and colleagues Nature News and Views on this article (link)
A new paper introducing a computational method to identify the best next experiment to test a given causal hypothesis! (PDF)
New Science Advances paper on the role of post-natal immune activation in revealing social phenotypes in an animal model of Tuberous Sclerosis (PDF)
New Neuron Perspective on molecular, cellular, systems and cognitive mechanisms of memory structures! (PDF)
New Cell paper with the Carmichael, Shohani labs showing that decreases of CCR5 enhance recovery after stroke and TBI: results in rodents and humans! (PDF)
New Current Biology paper that argues that most translation failures cannot be attributed to biological differences between mice and men (PDF)
New Nature Communications paper with the Carmichael Lab at UCLA showing that manipulations of CREB can enhance recovery after stroke! ((PDF)
Our paper "Hotspots of dendritic spine turnover facilitate clustered spine addition and learning & memory” featured by Ada Yee in Nat Comm Editors’ Highlights
Our Memory Allocation and Linking discovery was highlighted by Scientific American as one of "13 Discoveries that Could Change Everything"
NPR interview with Alcino Silva about memory linking
Scientific American Paper on Memory Linking!
Book: Engineering the next revolution in neuroscience: the new science of experiment planning
