Major grant to Aarhus University to promote the understanding of our memory
Backed by two grants of DKK 2.5 million from the Independent Research Fund Denmark and DKK 3 million from the Lundbeck Foundation, Professor Marco Capogna from Aarhus University will study how certain nerve cells affect our memory.
The human brain contains around 90 billion nerve cells that together constitute a complex information network in which there is a constant exchange of signals with the help of electrical impulses and chemical neurotransmitters. These exchanges are where our thoughts, dreams and memories are formed.
In a new three-year research project, Professor Marco Capogna will focus on a special type of neurotransmitter called GABA and try to identify what role it plays in the brains of mammals. The goal is to achieve greater insight into the different functions of the nerve cells and what role these nerve cells play in relation to our memory. The new insights may prove relevant for a wide range of brain diseases such as e.g. epilepsy, autism, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.
With the million-kroner grants, Marco Capogna furthermore hopes to be able to establish a new method for detecting electrical impulses in the brain – something that only very few laboratories around the world are capable of doing today.
Contact
Professor Marco Capogna
Aarhus University, Department of Biomedicine
DANDRITE
Tel.: (+45) 8716 8407
E-mail: marco.capogna@biomed.au.dk