• UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine
UCLA Health

UCLA Health
  • About Us
    • What is UCLA Health?
    • Contact Us
    • Your Feedback
    • Accountable Care Organization
    • Awards & Achievements
    • Careers
    • Careers for Physicians
    • Departments - Administrative
    • Departments - Clinical
    • Giving to UCLA Health
    • Health Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
    • In the Community
    • Industry Relations
    • Innovation
    • Leadership
    • News Releases
    • Price Transparency
    • Social Media
    • #TeamLA
    • 340B Program
    Vital SignsLinked Graphic: Subscribe to Health Newsletters
    • Contact
    • Your Feedback
    • Accountable Care Organization
    • Awards and Achievements
    • Careers
    • Careers for Physicians
    • Departments - Administrative
    • Departments - Clinical
    • Giving to UCLA Health
    • Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
    • Industry Relations
    • Innovation
    • In the Community
    • 340B Program
    • Leadership
    • News Releases
    • Price Transparency
    • Social Media
    • TeamLA
    • Subscribe to UCLA Health Newsletters
  • Conditions & Treatment
    • Health Library
    • Tests & Procedures
    • Drug Interaction Checker
    • Brain & Nervous System
    • Cancer
    • Children's Health
    • Heart Disease
    • Nutrition & Wellness
    • Pregnancy & Newborns
    • Orthopedics
    • Women's Health
    • Video Library
    • Cancer
    • Cardiovascular
    • Chiropractic
    • Cosmetic Surgery
    • Ear, Nose and Throat
    • Gastrointestinal
    • General Healthcare
    • Neurological
    • Obstetrics/Gynecology
    • See all videos...
    Symptom Checker
    • Video Library
  • Locations

    Hospitals

    • Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
    • UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center
    • UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital
    • Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital
    • Institutes and Centers
    • Take a Virtual Tour

    Medical Offices/Clinics

    • Primary Care
    • Specialty Care
    • Immediate Care
    • Emergency Care
    • Outpatient Surgery Centers
    • Community Cancer Care
    • Pediatric Locations
    • Imaging/Radiology
    • Clinical Labs
    • Pharmacies

    Interactive Map

    interactive map

    • Interactive Map
    • UCLA Medical Plazas
    • Locations Coming Soon
    • UCLA Hospitals
    • Take a Virtual Tour
    • Primary Care Practices
    • Specialty Care Practices
    • Immediate Care
    • Emergency Care
    • Pediatric Locations
    • Outpatient Surgery Centers
    • Clinical Labs
    • Pharmacies
    • Other Locations
    • Interactive Map
    • Coming Soon!
  • Medical Services
  • For Patients & Visitors
    • Directions & Parking
    • Appointments
    • Video Visits
    • Medical Chaperones
    • Admissions
    • Preparing For Surgery
    • Patient Services
    • Security & Parking Services
    • Office of the Patient Experience
    • For International Patients
    • Lodging & Nearby Services
    • Around Westwood
    • Gift Shops & Flowers
    • Patient Greeting Cards
    • Coronavirus Resources
    • Log in to myUCLAhealth
    • Billing and Insurance
    • Medical Records
    • Price Transparency
    • Health Encyclopedia
    • Interactive Patient Education Videos (Emmi)
    • FAQs
    • Calendar of Events
    • Secure Email Messages
    • Health Resources
    • Multimedia
    • Download our Apps
    • Doctor on video visit
    • Open Enrollment
    • Visit our Connect Blog
    • Send a Care Compliment
    • Read Health Publications
    • Vital Signs Newsletters
    • Join a Patient and Family Advisory Council
    • Share your Feedback
    • Contact Us
    • Appointments: Call, Click, Come in
    • Video Visits - Telemedicine
    • Medical Chaperones
    • Admissions Information
    • Advance Directive
    • Directions & Parking
    • Patient Services
    • Medical Records
    • myUCLAhealth
    • Smoke-Free
    • Publications
    • Multimedia
    • Health Resources
    • Around Westwood
    • Lodging
    • Preparing For Surgery
    • Patient-focused Technology Council
    • Health Forms
    • End of Life Option Act: Resources & Materials
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Secure Email Messages
    • Gift Shops
    • Patient Greeting Cards
  • For Healthcare Professionals
    • Referring a Patient
    • Continuing Medical Education
    • Ethics Center
    • UCLA HealthLink
    • Physician to Physician Access Line (P2P)
    • David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
    • Clinical Informatics Fellowship
    • Academic Positions
    • Physician Careers
    • UCLA School of Dentistry
    • UCLA School of Nursing
    • Department of Nursing

    Physician Publications

    • Physicians Update
    • Clinical Updates
    • U Magazine
    • Physician to Physician Access Line (P2P)
    • Physician Careers
    • Clinical Informatics Fellowship
    • Flu Resources for Healthcare Professionals
    • Publications
  • Clinical Research
    • All Clinical Trials
    • COVID-19 Clinical Research
  • Find a Provider
  • UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine

News Releases

  1. Home
  2. About Us
  3. News Releases

News Releases

Health and Behavior

UCLA scientists pioneer new method for watching brain cells interact in real time

Findings could deepen understanding of neurological disorders

04/05/2018

Brain cells at work.

An advance by UCLA neuroscientists could lead to a better understanding of astrocytes, star-shaped brain cells that are believed to play a key role in neurological disorders like Lou Gehrig’s, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases.

Reported in Neuron, the new method enables researchers to peer deep inside a mouse’s brain and watch astrocytes’ influence over the communication between nerve cells in real time. The test relies on fluorescence resonance energy-transfer microscopy, or FRET microscopy, a technique that uses light to measure the tiniest of distances between molecules. 

The UCLA team focused on astrocytes’ relationship with synapses, the junctions between neurons that enable them to signal each other and convey messages. Neuroscientists have tried for years to measure how astrocytes’ tentacles interact with synapses to perform important brain functions. Until now, however, no one had developed a test suitable for viewing adult brain tissue in living mice.

“We’re now able to see how astrocytes and synapses make physical contact, and determine how these connections change in disorders like Alzheimer’s and  Huntington’s diseases,” said Baljit Khakh, the study’s lead author and a professor of physiology and neurobiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “What we learn could open up new strategies for treating those diseases, for example, by identifying cellular interactions that support normal brain function.”

Khakh’s team sent different colors of light through a lens to magnify objects that are invisible to the naked eye. Using FRET microscopy allowed them to see objects about 100 times smaller than would be viewable using conventional light microscopy. As a result, the researchers could observe how interactions between synapses and astrocytes change over time, as well as during various diseases, in mice.

“We know that astrocytes play a major role in how the brain works and also influence disease,” said Chris Octeau, the study’s first author and a UCLA postdoctoral fellow in physiology. “But exactly how the cells accomplish these tasks has remained murky.”

It had been unclear to scientists how often astrocytes make contact with synapses and how these interactions change during disease or as a result of different types of cellular activity. The UCLA advance should enable scientists to address those questions.

“This new tool makes possible experiments that we have been wanting to perform for many years,” said Khakh, who also is a member of the UCLA Brain Research Institute. “For example, we can now observe how brain damage alters the way that astrocytes interact with neurons and develop strategies to address these changes.”

Additional co-authors are Shivan Bonanno, Hua Chai, Ruotian Jiang and Dr. Kelsey Martin, all of UCLA.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute of Mental Health and a National Institutes of Health Director’s Pioneer Award.

Learn more about the neuroscience research theme at UCLA.



Media Contact
Elaine Schmidt
310-267-8323
eschmidt@mednet.ucla.edu



Latest News

Health and Behavior
Back to class: How to talk to children about returning to school
02/25/2021
Psychologist Melissa Brymer recommends clear and detailed communication about changes children can expect in their classrooms and routines.

Health and Behavior
UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center shares $1.4 million in state funding to address COVID-19
02/24/2021
The money will support programs and research on the impact of COVID-19 among Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, including new research into hate incidents.

Health and Behavior
For UCLA-based startup, new muscular dystrophy treatment is a personal mission
02/23/2021
In 2008, when Courtney Young was in high school, her cousin, then just a toddler, was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Health and Behavior
How public health research can shape inclusive immigration policies
02/23/2021
UCLA Center for Health Policy Research scholars discuss how the Biden administration can use research to improve immigrant health.

Health and Behavior
Older people often incorrectly assume medicines don’t have potential side effects
02/23/2021
Research brief: The study is aimed at helping doctors ensure their patients adhere to medication regimens.

Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube LinkedInWeibo
UCLA Health hospitals ranked best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report
  • UCLA Health
  • Find a Doctor
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • UCLA Campus
  • Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Subscribe
  • Patient Stories
  • Giving
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • International Services
  • Privacy Practices
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Billing
  • Health Plans
  • Emergency
  • Report Broken Links
  • Terms of Use
  • 1-310-825-2631
  • Maps & Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Your Feedback
  • Report Misconduct
  • Get Social
  • Sitemap

Sign in to myUCLAhealth

Learn more about myUCLAhealth