New approaches in Parkinson’s research

July 23rd, 2013

Scientists from Freiburg and Jerusalem received a three-year grant by the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF). The money is awarded for the team’s research into the causes of mental symptoms in Parkinson’s disease.

Arvind Kumar and Ad Aertsen at the Bernstein Center and the Cluster of Excellence BrainLinks-BrainTools in Freiburg and Hagai Bergman at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem will join their expertise in theoretical neuroscience and experimental research to unravel the causes of – and possible treatments for – Parkinson’s disease, the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's.
While deep-brain stimulation (DBS) and conventional medical treatments alleviate the directly observable symptoms of the disease like shaking or reduced mobility, the cognitive and emotional disorders continue to worsen. To the scientists, this suggests that there is more to Parkinson’s than just tremor and oscillations in brain activity. Indeed, studies suggest that the altered activity dynamics in several brain regions impair the normal function of these networks of nerve cells.

In the joint German-Israeli project, combined experimental and theoretical approaches will allow the researchers to study the detailed structure of brain activity in brain areas affected by Parkinson’s disease. Specifically, the team wants to test the hypothesis that a rich repertoire of behavior requires the existence of multiple assemblies of nerve cells.
According to their view, the death of specific nerve cells, leading to the loss of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which lies at the basis of the disease, result in changes in the activity patterns of nerve cell. These changes may destroy the neural assemblies responsible for a multitude of behaviors. The researchers hope that an improved understanding of the activity dynamics in the brain will allow them to identify new stimulation paradigms that can restore the altered activity dynamics and, thereby, alleviate both motor and non-motor symptoms of PD.

The German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF) was established in 1986, supporting research cooperations between Israel and Germany.
 

Link:

German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development