Ben Barres, M.D. Ph.D., a scientist at the Stanford University School of Medicine whose lab is a member of the Reeve Foundation International Research Consortium on Spinal Cord Injury, has been selected by the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience to receive one of four 2012 Memory and Cognitive Disorders Awards.

The awards will provide $1.2 million over three years - $300,000 to each scientist - for research on the biology of brain diseases.

The Memory and Cognitive Disorders Awards support innovative research by U.S. scientists exploring new ways to diagnose, prevent and treat memory and cognitive disorders. "Prevention and treatment of memory and cognitive disorders will require our detailed understanding of the complexities of the brain," said Eric Nestler, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the awards committee

Dr. Barres’ award is for his work with astrocytes, a type of cell in the brain and spinal cord. His project is titled, "Do Astrocytes Control Synaptic Turnover? A New Model for What Causes Alzheimer's Disease and How to Prevent It."

Because neurons in most parts of the brain are not replaced with aging, it's likely that some mechanism is needed to remove existing synapses so they can be replaced with new ones. Dr. Barres is investigating the possibility that astrocytes, star-shaped cells that perform many functions in the brain, are involved in this process, engulfing aging synapses so that they can be replaced by new ones. His lab will determine whether astrocytes do indeed play this role and, if so, what happens if their work is impaired. The work has potential to improve understanding and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

The study of synapses is also of great interest in spinal cord injury, as regenerating nerve fibers make new connections with muscle tissue. The role of astrocytes in this process is not fully known.
 

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