Communications of the ACM
Mouse-Brain Model Maps Spread of Alpha-Synuclein in Parkinson's Disease
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and its Alzheimer's Disease Research Center have developed a computational model of a mouse brain.
Credit: Michael X. Henderson/University of Pennsylvania
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and its Alzheimer's Disease Research Center have developed a computational mouse model that simulates the spread of the misfolded alpha-synuclein protein found in Parkinson's and other diseases throughout the brain.
The team built its network diffusion model from a map of mouse brain areas and their connecting pathways, in order to better understand how the protein alpha-synuclein spreads through the brain and where it tends to accumulate.
The researchers said their network brain model offers a new way to “test hypotheses of spreading patterns, timing, directionality, and vulnerability.”
The U.S. National Institute on Aging awarded the researchers a grant to support their continued exploration of how alpha-synuclein proteins spread, and how that can lead to neurodegenerative disease.
From National Institute on Aging
View Full Article
Abstracts Copyright © 2019 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA
No entries found