Dori Schafer - 2016 Worcester Foundation grant awarded

How do immune cells wire the brain?

The goal of this study is to identify novel mechanisms by which  resident immune cells of the brain called microglia regulate the plasticity of brain circuits and determine whether these mechanisms are critical for learning and memory. These studies could fundamentally change how the field views plasticity underlying learning and memory as neuron-autonomous and will  identify novel mechanisms underlying devastating neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease with known defects in learning and memory.