Welcome to the Department of Neurobiology
at Harvard Medical School
The Neurobiology Department, the first of its kind in the country, was established to bring together faculty of many disciplines including biochemistry, molecular biology, anatomy, physiology, and medicine, to study the development and function of the brain. Our scientists now pursue basic research programs that strive to understand how complex neural circuits are shaped and reshaped during the development of the brain and in the adult brain to generate thoughts and memories, to process sensory information and to drive behavior. Our studies have direct bearing on neurological diseases such as neurodegeneration, disorders of cognitive function, epilepsy and disorders of sensory information processing, and offer insights into potential therapies.
The faculty, staff and students of the department have contributed breakthrough discoveries in neuroscience and links to this website we hope will help you to understand what makes the department an exciting place to learn, teach and work. Explore and enjoy!
Recent publications from department members include:
FLEXIQinase, a mass spectrometry-based assay, to unveil multikinase mechanisms.
Singh SA, Winter D, Bilimoria PM, Bonni A, Steen H, Steen JA.
Nat Methods. 2012 Apr 8.
The voltage-gated proton channel Hv1 enhances brain damage from ischemic stroke.
Wu LJ, Wu G, Akhavan Sharif MR, Baker A, Jia Y, Fahey FH, Luo HR, Feener EP, Clapham DE.
Nat Neurosci. 2012 Mar 4;15(4):565-73.
Optical highlighter molecules in neurobiology.
Datta SR, Patterson GH.
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2012 Feb;22(1):111-20.
Wnt5a-Ror-Dishevelled signaling constitutes a core developmental pathway that controls tissue morphogenesis.
Ho HY, Susman MW, Bikoff JB, Ryu YK, Jonas AM, Hu L, Kuruvilla R, Greenberg ME.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Mar 13;109(11):4044-51.
The nogo receptor family restricts synapse number in the developing hippocampus.
Wills ZP, Mandel-Brehm C, Mardinly AR, McCord AE, Giger RJ, Greenberg ME.
Neuron. 2012 Feb 9;73(3):466-81.
HBL-1 patterns synaptic remodeling in C. elegans.
Thompson-Peer KL, Bai J, Hu Z, Kaplan JM.
Neuron. 2012 Feb 9;73(3):453-65.
Behavioral and anatomical consequences of early versus late symbol training in macaques.
Srihasam K, Mandeville JB, Morocz IA, Sullivan KJ, Livingstone MS.
Neuron. 2012 Feb 9;73(3):608-19.
Population coding of somatic sensations.
Ma Q.
Neurosci Bull. 2012 Apr;28(2):91-9.
Tuned normalization explains the size of attention modulations.
Ni AM, Ray S, Maunsell JH.
Neuron. 2012 Feb 23;73(4):803-13.
Signaling in dendritic spines and spine microdomains.
Chen Y, Sabatini BL.
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2012 Mar 26
Fasting activation of AgRP neurons requires NMDA receptors and involves spinogenesis and increased excitatory tone.
Liu T, Kong D, Shah BP, Ye C, Koda S, Saunders A, Ding JB, Yang Z, Sabatini BL, Lowell BB.
Neuron. 2012 Feb 9;73(3):511-22.
Deconstructing the neuropathic pain phenotype to reveal neural mechanisms.
von Hehn CA, Baron R, Woolf CJ.
Neuron. 2012 Feb 23;73(4):638-52.
Inflammation-induced decrease in voluntary wheel running in mice: A nonreflexive test for evaluating inflammatory pain and analgesia.
Cobos EJ, Ghasemlou N, Araldi D, Segal D, Duong K, Woolf CJ.
Pain. 2012 Apr;153(4):876-84.
Analgesia by inhibiting tetrahydrobiopterin synthesis.
Costigan M, Latremoliere A, Woolf CJ.
Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2012 Feb;12(1):92-9.
Optogenetic reporters: Fluorescent protein-based genetically encoded indicators of signaling and metabolism in the brain.
Tantama M, Hung YP, Yellen G.
Prog Brain Res. 2012;196:235-63.