For decades, a key brain area has been thought to merely regulate locomotion. Now, a research group in Basel has shown that the region is involved in much more than walking, as it contains distinct populations of neurons that control different body movements. The findings could help to improve certain therapies for Parkinson’s disease.
The European Research Council has awarded ERC Advanced Grants to two scientists from the University of Basel. Neurobiologist Prof. Silvia Arber and parasitologist Prof. Jennifer Keiser will receive funding in the millions for their pioneering research projects.
Writing, driving a screw or throwing darts are only some of the activities that demand a high level of skill. How the brain masters such exquisite movements has now been described in the journal “Nature” by a team of researchers. A map of brainstem circuits reveals which neurons control the fine motor skills of the arm and hand.
The neurobiologist Prof. Silvia Arber and the developmental biologist Prof. Alex Schier from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel have been elected as new members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Joining the ranks of the NAS is one of the greatest honors to be bestowed on a scientist.
The Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) has appointed genome researcher Prof. Dr. Dirk Schübeler as its new director.
Prof. Silvia Arber, neurobiologist at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, and the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) and new co-director of the FMI, has been awarded the International Prize 2018 of the Fyssen Foundation. Arber has received this recognition for her investigations on the development and function of neuronal circuits involved in motor control.
Silvia Arber and Botond Roska, both professors at the University of Basel, have been selected as co-recipients of the 2018 W. Alden Spencer Award in recognition of their outstanding contributions to understanding developmental and functional mechanisms of motor and visual system circuitry respectively.
Scientists have demonstrated that the motor cortex is necessary for the execution of corrective movements in response to unexpected changes of sensory input but not when the same movements are executed spontaneously. Signatures of differential neuronal usage in the cortex accompany these two phenomena.
Prof. Silvia Arber, Neuroscientist at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel and the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, receives the Pradel Research Award 2018. She receives the award by the National Academy of Sciences for her groundbreaking research on the organization and function of circuits regulating motor behavior.
