A clearly defined subpopulation of neurons in the brainstem is essential to execute locomotion at high speeds. Interestingly, these high-speed neurons are intermingled with others that can elicit immediate stopping. How defined groups of brainstem neurons can regulate important aspects of full motor programs, reports a study by researchers of the Biozentrum at the University of Basel and the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI). The journal Nature has published the results.
Philip Tovote from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) and Maria Soledad Esposito from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel and from FMI were awarded the Pfizer Research Prize 2017. The two scientists reported in the journal Nature on how neuronal circuits are involved in the behavioral response to fear.
The 2017 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine is awarded to Silvia Arber, Professor of Neurobiology at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, and senior group leader at the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel, and to the immunologist Caetano Reis e Sousa, senior group leader at the Francis Crick Institute in London.
Walking, as part of locomotion, is a coordinated whole-body movement that involves both the arms and legs. Researchers at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel and the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research have identified different subpopulations of neurons in the spinal cord with long projections. The results show that these neurons coordinate movement of arms and legs and ensure a stable body posture during locomotion.
Four researchers of the University of Basel have been awarded the prestigious ERC Advanced Grants by the European Research Council (ERC).
The infection biologist Prof. Petr Broz of the Biozentrum has been awarded this year's Friedrich Miescher Award by the Swiss Society for Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (SSCMB).