News and Announcements

Northwestern has established the Denning Ataxia Center, a multidisciplinary hub dedicated to improving the understanding of ataxia through integrating leading-edge research with patient-centered clinical care, with the goal of unraveling the complexities of the condition and developing improved treatments.

An international team of investigators have discovered that oligodendrocytes contribute approximately one-third of plaque formation alongside neurons in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a recent study published in Nature Neuroscience.

Northwestern investigators have identified a novel transcription factor which regulates a signaling mechanism utilized by a fertilized embryo to protect its mother from cellular and environmental stress, according to a recent study to published in the journal Genes and Development.

The Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease celebrated its 30th Annual Alzheimer’s Day on May 3, 2024, where researchers and community members came together to learn about recent accomplishments in the field, early-onset Alzheimer’s and community efforts raising awareness for those experiencing cognitive decline.

Dillan Prasad, a first-year medical student at Feinberg, was recently recognized for outstanding research by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Northwestern Medicine investigators have developed a method to measure protein expression in an individual neuron type, according to a study published in Molecular Psychiatry.

Scientists have discovered a neuronal pathway involved in how the brain encodes the transition to high-intensity fear response behaviors required for survival, according to a study published in Nature.

Northwestern Medicine investigators have revealed new insights into the impact of neuronal structural diversity on neural computation, the basis of brain function, according to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified how a subset of neurons enable the eyes to perceive motion, according to a study published in Nature Communications, a discovery that reveals previously hidden complexities of how vision functions in mammals.

Several recent studies from Feinberg investigators and colleagues have shed light on complex neurological processes and provided new insights and technological developments for neural prostheses.

Modulating the activity of a kinase in motor neurons may help mitigate mitochondrial defects and other symptoms of spinal muscular atrophy, offering a new therapeutic avenue for the devastating disease, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Northwestern investigators, clinicians, and people living with ALS convened in the Feinberg Pavilion for the 13th annual Les Turner Symposium on ALS to celebrate and share new scientific breakthroughs that improve the understanding of ALS and advancements in treating the disease.

Northwestern scientists have discovered the cause of the ‘punch-drunk’ feeling associated with sleep deprivation, and have found that it also increased dopamine and synaptic plasticity in the brain.

Investigators have discovered a new subtype of interneurons in the retina that allows the eye to see and identify objects better in both the light and in the dark, dismantling previous notions about the inner workings of the retina, according to a Northwestern Medicine study.

A new Northwestern study details the use of protein-like polymers to potentially combat neovascular age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness.