dianalxie

I am a humble research assistant, currently applying to grad school to become a PhD student. I just received my undergraduate degree and am taking a gap year to work on my research and NEURO.tv.

From molecular and cellular biology - how proteins and neurons work - to how brains interact, model the environment and each other to handle social interactions.

Hi, 1) Schizophrenia does begin to manifest much more often during teenage years and early adulthood. Scientists have found genetic and environmental causes that are associated with higher risks for schizophrenia, but the particular reason why it appears during this stage of development are still unknown. Obviously, many physiological changes occur during those years so it is likely that concomitant changes in hormones, brain development or other biological factors might interact with the known causes of schizophrenia to induce the psychotic episodes.

2) There are known changes happening to the brain in schizophrenia. van Os and Kapur ( http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60995-8/fulltext ) note some of the areas that have been known to show anatomical differences. One notable change is in dopaminergic transmission. There is even a hypothesis that increased dopaminergic signalling might be the source of the psychotic episodes in schizophrenia, although it remains an open question whether dopaminergic transmission is simply modified by the psychosis or if it's really the underlying cause ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_hypothesis_of_schizophrenia )

I think the work of Kay Tye at MIT is amazing. She is trying to identify the neural circuits that are involved in mood disorders, anxiety and depression. They target neurons in some brain areas that are equipped with light receptors that have been introduced genetically, and then with a very intense light pointed at the brain they are able to shut down or activate these neurons to see if they are involved in mood disorders.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v496/n7444/full/nature12018.html

Well I'm very used to considering the safety and well-being of subjects in experiments so in all honesty, I have never thought about it before!

For the show, yes I will be a co-host with JF!

Mainly stick to the underlying science, although some discussions on policy did come up in Episode 6, not aired yet.

Our show is directed both to academics and to lay-person who are motivated in learning about the details of science and how it's done.