Neuroscience Perspectives

Neuroscience Perspectives

di Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester

How Microglia Influence Brain Development and Disease | Ania Majewska

On this episode of Neuroscience Perspectives, John Foxe, PhD, talks with Ania Majewska, PhD, professor of neuroscience and co-director of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at the University of Rochester. Majewska studies microglia—immune cells in the brain—and how they interact with synapses during development, learning, and disease. Using advanced two-photon microscopy and in-vivo imaging, Majewska and her team can watch microglia and synapses interact in the living brain. Her landmark research has helped shift how we think about microglia, showing that they are not just passive responders to injury but active, dynamic participants in normal brain wiring and plasticity. Majewska also discusses her path into neuroscience, the evolution of two-photon imaging, and the importance of mentorship in scientific research. Listen and learn more about microglia, synapses, brain plasticity, neurodevelopment, and the technologies helping scientists see the brain in action. Subscribe to Neuroscience Perspectives for conversations with leading neuroscientists and researchers from the University of Rochester and beyond.

RE-RELEASE: Why the Brain is Smarter than AI

Dr. Doris Tsao shares how her pioneering research has transformed our understanding of how the brain processes visual information. Her lab helped discover that it only takes a few hundred neurons to encode any face – for reference, there are more than a few billion neurons in the brain. This conversation explores the intersection of neuroscience, math, and AI. We also discuss her academic journey—from Caltech to Harvard, and her current role at UC Berkeley. Dr. Tsao shares the importance of science communication and what it means to pursue truth in a world shaped by both neural networks and human curiosity. Join Dr. John Foxe, Director of the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at University of Rochester Medicine on Neuroscience Perspectives. #podcast #science #AI #brain #neuroscience

RE-RELEASE: Lisa Genova Novels and Neuroscience

Revisit the fascinating conversation with best-selling author and neuroscientist Lisa Genova, PhD. Her groundbreaking novel, Still Alice, coupled powerful storytelling with the reality of Alzheimer's disease. It launched Lisa Genova into the spotlight and Hollywood, but most importantly, it deepened the public’s understanding of the neurological condition. Lisa Genova continues to bridge science and storytelling, writing books about left neglect, Huntington’s, ALS, autism, and bipolar disorder. In doing so, she inspires empathy for those affected and reshapes how these diseases are perceived beyond the lab and clinic. Dr. Genova was a headline speaker at the University of Rochester's Meliora Weekend: https://www.rochester.edu/melioraweekend/meliora-2025-announcement/#lisa #neuroscience #BrainHealth #LisaGenova 🧠Stay Connected Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@URNeuroscience X: https://x.com/URNeuroscience BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/urneuroscience.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/urneuroscience/ 🧠Experts in this Episode: Lisa Genova, PhD: https://www.lisagenova.com/ John Foxe, PhD: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/people/112360965-john-j-foxe

How can a microscopic roundworm help researchers understand the brain?

Anne Hart, PhD, professor and Chair of Neuroscience at Brown University, uses C elegans to study genetics, disease, and sleep. In this episode of Neuroscience Perspectives, she tells Dr. John Foxe about the bold move she made early in her career and how it paid off. She also shares the importance of using these simple animal models to ask complex questions.

Why Can't You 'See' Everything? The Neuroscience Behind Selective Attention

Dr. Marlene Cohen, professor of Neurobiology at the University of Chicago's Neuroscience Institute, discusses how selective attention helps us pick out what is important in the world around us. Our eyes are constantly bombarded with information, which then enters the brain for processing. This highlights the intricate work of neuroscience in understanding brain function and how we perceive our environment. She is recognized for using multielectrode array recordings to show that a specific pattern of brain activity is reduced when the brain prioritizes information, and that the same mechanism is used when we learn. Today, her research investigates how neural activity gives rise to behavior, particularly in the context of visual attention, and she has also moved into translational work. #neuroscience #cognitive science #brainscience #selectiveattention #optic 🧠Stay Connected Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@URNeuroscience X: https://x.com/URNeuroscience BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/urneuroscience.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/urneuroscience/ 🧠Experts in this Episode: Marlene Cohen, PhD: https://neurobiology.uchicago.edu/faculty/marlene-cohen John Foxe, PhD: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/people/112360965-john-j-foxe 🧠Labs Mentioned: Marlene Cohen Lab: http://www.cohenlab.com/ Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab: https://urmc.info/1RG

Rett Syndrome: Symptoms, Genetics, Science, and Clinical Trials

What is Rett syndrome—and how close are we to effective treatments? In this episode of Neuroscience Perspectives, Dr. John Foxe, director of the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at University of Rochester Medicine, sits down with Dr. Jeffrey Neul, a leading expert in pediatric neurology and neurodevelopmental disorders, to explore the latest breakthroughs in Rett syndrome research, clinical trials, and biomarker development. Rett syndrome is a rare genetic neurological disorder that primarily affects girls and is often caused by mutations in the MECP2 gene. Dr. Neul shares how advances in neurogenetics and translational neuroscience are transforming how researchers understand and treat this complex condition. #RettSyndrome #Neuroscience #RareDisease #PediatricNeurology #BrainResearch #Neurodevelopment #ClinicalTrials #MedicalResearch #SciencePodcast #Podcast 🧠Stay Connected Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@URNeuroscience X: https://x.com/URNeuroscience BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/urneuroscience.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/urneuroscience/ 🧠Experts in this Episode: Jeffrey Neul, MD, PhD: https://vkc.vumc.org/people/neul-jeffrey John Foxe, PhD: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/people/112360965-john-j-foxe 🧠Labs Mentioned: Neul Lab: http://neullab.com/index.html Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab: https://urmc.info/1RG

Brain Organoids Unlock New Understanding of Developmental Disorders

What the hippocampus tells us about exercise, learning, and memory. How organoids are being used in neurodevelopmental research. And the future of medicine and stem cell therapy. In this episode, Dr. Xinyu Zhao, Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and investigator at the Waisman Center, joins John Foxe, PhD, director of the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester. Dr. Zhao is internationally recognized for groundbreaking research on the molecular mechanisms that regulate neural stem cells, adult neurogenesis, and brain development, including how disruptions in these processes contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, fragile X syndrome, and Rett syndrome. Dr. Zhao was a keynote speaker at the 2025 Golisano Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Institute and Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Symposium. 🧠Stay Connected Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@URNeuroscience X: https://x.com/URNeuroscience BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/urneuroscience.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/urneuroscience/ 🧠Experts in this Episode: Xinyu Zhao, PhD: https://neuro.wisc.edu/staff/zhao-xinyu/ John Foxe, PhD: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/people/112360965-john-j-foxe 🧠Labs Mentioned: Zhao Lab: https://zhao-lab.com/ Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab: https://urmc.info/1RG

What the Developing Brain Could Reveal About Autism

In this episode of Neuroscience Perspectives, we speak with Dr. Shafali Jeste, an internationally recognized child neurologist whose research has advanced the identification of early biomarkers that predict autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy in infants with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex. Dr. Jeste shares how brain imaging and EEG are advancing our understanding of infant brain development. Dr. Jeste is Chair and Executive Medical Director of Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Executive Director of the Children’s Discovery and Innovation Institute. From autism biomarkers to translational research, this conversation highlights how neuroscience is improving care for children with neurodevelopmental disorders and developmental disabilities. Subscribe for more episodes from Neuroscience Perspectives, featuring researchers from the University of Rochester and those who visit. #neuroscience #podcast #autism #research #Neurodevelopment #braindevelopment #sciencepodcast #womeninscience #autismawareness 🧠 Stay Connected Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@URNeuroscience X: https://x.com/URNeuroscience BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/urneuroscience.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/urneuroscience/ 🧠 Experts in this Episode Shafali Jeste, MD: https://teams.semel.ucla.edu/tarjan/team/shafali-jeste-md John Foxe, PhD: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/people/112360965-john-j-foxe

Neurons Don't Work Alone: What Neuroscientists Know About Memory Formation

🧠How do memories form in the brain? How do individual neurons create memories? In this episode of Neuroscience Perspectives, Ueli Rutishauser, PhD, professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology & Biomedical Sciences, and director of Human Neurophysiology Research and the Center for Neural Science and Medicine at Cedars-Sinai, explores groundbreaking neuroscience research on memory formation, learning, and neural activity in the human brain. Using single-neuron recordings, Dr. Rutishauser explains to Dr. John Foxe how the hippocampus and other brain regions encode episodic memory and cognition. This conversation dives into how brain cells communicate, how memories are formed and retrieved, and why studying neurons at the single-cell level is transforming cognitive neuroscience. We caught up with Dr. Rutishauser in San Diego at the Society for Neuroscience Conference #SfN25 #Brain #Science #HowTheBrainWorks #MindAndBrain #MemoryScience #BrainFacts #NeuroscienceExplained #ScienceEducation #STEM #Research #Podcast #LongFormContent 🧠Stay Connected Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@URNeuroscience X: https://x.com/URNeuroscience BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/urneuroscience.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/urneuroscience/ 🧠Experts in this Episode: Ueli Rutishauser, PhD: https://researchers.cedars-sinai.edu/Ueli.Rutishauser John Foxe, PhD: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/people/112360965-john-j-foxe 🧠Labs Mentioned: Rutishauser Lab: https://www.cedars-sinai.edu/health-sciences-university/research/labs/rutishauser.html Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab: https://urmc.info/1RG

The Role of Neurons in Our Decisions & Behavior

In this episode of Neuroscience Perspectives, Dr. Anne Churchland, professor of Neurobiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine and the Brain Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, explores how the brain transforms sensory information into decisions. Through the use of neuroscience, mouse models, and data analysis, she examines the neural circuits in the cortex that connect perception, attention, learning, and behavior. This conversation highlights cutting-edge brain research, offering insight into how brain signals shape choice and cognition. Dr. Churchland gave the Notter Lecture at the University of Rochester Medical Center in 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8eVajX4ZjA We caught up with her in San Diego at the Society for Neuroscience Conference #SfN25 #neuroscience #sciencefacts #DecisionMaking #podcast #science #sciencepodcast Stay Connected Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@URNeuroscience X: https://x.com/URNeuroscience BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/urneuroscience.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/urneuroscience/ Experts in this Episode: Anne Churchland, PhD: https://bri.ucla.edu/people/anne-churchland/ John Foxe, PhD: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/people/112360965-john-j-foxe Labs Mentioned: Churchland Lab: https://churchlandlab.dgsom.ucla.edu/ Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab: https://urmc.info/1RG

1 di 5