The Wright State researchers recently discovered similar changes in the axon initial segment in the brains of mice with type 2 diabetes. Previous research indicated that small changes in the neuronal axon initial segment, a highly specialized molecular structure that regulates electrical communication between neurons, are present in mouse models of AlzheimerвЂ™s disease, multiple sclerosis or chronic neuropathic pain. Griggs said that to develop new disease-modifying treatments for neurological disease, as opposed to just treating the symptoms, the mechanisms that initiate and maintain nervous system function and dysfunction must be understood at the network level. The research project focused on networks of neuronal cells and their connectivity. вЂњWe believe that neurological diseases may be caused by small changes in neurons within the brain that alter their normal function,вЂќ he said. Griggs said the team is passionate about studying the connection between neuronal structure and function and how that relationship is changed in diseases of the nervous system. The research project began in 2016 when Nguyen and fellow undergraduate student Jeneane Jaber were added to the growing research team headed by Keiichiro Susuki, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neuroscience, cell biology and physiology. вЂњThese findings could significantly impact the understanding of neurological complications in several disease states and are of broad pathophysiological relevance,вЂќ the researchers wrote.

The research, led by postdoctoral researcher Ryan Griggs, Ph.D., and graduate physiology and neuroscience student Duc Nguyen in the Department of Neuroscience, Cell Biology and Physiology, was published in eNeuro, a peer-reviewed scientific journal produced by the Society for Neuroscience. Wright State University researchers have identified a molecule that disrupts a highly specialized structure in neurons from the brain, a finding that could broaden the understanding of neurological complications in diseases. From left: Ryan Griggs, a postdoctoral researcher Andy Neuforth, research assistant Mahmoud Elbasiouny, neuroscience major John Miller, graduate biomedical sciences student Keiichiro Susuki, associate professor of neuroscience, cell biology and physiology Duc Nguyen, graduate physiology and neuroscience student and Jennae Shelby, M.D./Ph.D.

Wright state masters of anatomy