Due to the limited capacity of the brain to repair itself, strokes are the leading cause of adult disability. Although physical and occupational therapy can encourage damaged brain circuits to recover by enhancing their activity, such strategies are hampered by patient participation, limited ability to increase the therapy "dose" and the labor-intensive nature of the methods. However, several new classes of drugs have recently been developed that stimulate brain activity after strokes, possibly leading to increased neural repair and recovery.
Shyama Nair '10 spent the summer studying one particular class of compounds, called ampakines. These compounds have been intensively studied for their role enhancing learning and memory in cases of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers, but evidence suggests that they may also stimulate activities that lead to increased functional recovery after strokes. Nair helped with research to assess the role of ampakines in behavioral recovery, the sprouting of new connections and the generation of new neurons in mice after experimental strokes. She helped process tissue to see whether ampakine treatment encouraged post-stroke axonal sprouting (the formation of new neural connections in regions near the stroke site), or post-stroke neurogenesis, the generation of new neurons. Working under Dr. Andrew Clarkson, Nair learned the techniques of immunohistochemistry and neuroanatomical mapping and assisted in performing surgeries on the mice to obtain brain tissue and section it precisely.
Nair's work, conducted at Carmichael Lab at the University of California, Los Angeles, was supported by Bruce Dobkin '69, who is a professor of neurology at UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine. Each year, Dobkin offers an annual award and lab position to a qualified Hamilton student. Working at Carmichael Lab has given Nair the practical experience to learn the techniques, both behavioral and laboratorial, that are involved in a scientific study, she says.
One of the most interesting parts of the internship was working with the mice. "Assisting with mouse surgeries and learning how to perform sutures on them to stitch them up was probably one of the most exciting things I have ever done," she says. The behavioral studies were more challenging, requiring patience and hard work: Nair would sit for hours watching tapes of mice performing their behavior tasks and recording the time of each of their movements. Through the specific documentation of each mouse's actions, the scientists were able to determine how the stroke had affected the animal's behavior and how well it had recovered.
Leaving the Hill to pursue a summer of research has been refreshing, Nair says, because she has been thrown into "what feels like the real world." Being immersed in a lab environment and working every day with older, more experienced scientists has enabled her to learn a great deal. Having completed internships at hospitals in London and Singapore in the past, Nair has some experience with such real-life applications of her studies. "I think it is so important to expose yourself to such an environment because it reminds you of what you are working towards and that is often lost in the Hamilton frenzy," she says.
Excitement at UCLA wasn't just caused by the research, though: Nair was standing in the lab sectioning a mouse brain when the ground started to vibrate. "At first, I had no clue about what was going on, and then I looked outside and saw the whole building begin to shake," she recalls. "I turned around and I heard my lab colleagues say, 'earthquake!'" While most of the researchers ran for the doorway, the native Californians calmly continued to go about their business. The earthquake, although it only lasted for a few seconds, was "scary nonetheless."
The project has completely changed Nair's perspective on scientific research, and has made her see working in a lab as a possibility for her future career. "Going to lab everyday for ten weeks never felt like work," she notes. A neuroscience major with a minor in government, Nair will be working as an EMT on campus this year, and says she will "definitely be returning" to continue research at Carmichael Lab next summer. After Hamilton she plans to study neuroscience at medical school, possibly at UCLA. Eventually, Nair hopes to take part in Doctors without Borders to make a difference in areas that need healthcare aid.
-- by Laura Bramley
Shyama Nair '10 spent the summer studying one particular class of compounds, called ampakines. These compounds have been intensively studied for their role enhancing learning and memory in cases of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers, but evidence suggests that they may also stimulate activities that lead to increased functional recovery after strokes. Nair helped with research to assess the role of ampakines in behavioral recovery, the sprouting of new connections and the generation of new neurons in mice after experimental strokes. She helped process tissue to see whether ampakine treatment encouraged post-stroke axonal sprouting (the formation of new neural connections in regions near the stroke site), or post-stroke neurogenesis, the generation of new neurons. Working under Dr. Andrew Clarkson, Nair learned the techniques of immunohistochemistry and neuroanatomical mapping and assisted in performing surgeries on the mice to obtain brain tissue and section it precisely.
Nair's work, conducted at Carmichael Lab at the University of California, Los Angeles, was supported by Bruce Dobkin '69, who is a professor of neurology at UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine. Each year, Dobkin offers an annual award and lab position to a qualified Hamilton student. Working at Carmichael Lab has given Nair the practical experience to learn the techniques, both behavioral and laboratorial, that are involved in a scientific study, she says.
One of the most interesting parts of the internship was working with the mice. "Assisting with mouse surgeries and learning how to perform sutures on them to stitch them up was probably one of the most exciting things I have ever done," she says. The behavioral studies were more challenging, requiring patience and hard work: Nair would sit for hours watching tapes of mice performing their behavior tasks and recording the time of each of their movements. Through the specific documentation of each mouse's actions, the scientists were able to determine how the stroke had affected the animal's behavior and how well it had recovered.
Leaving the Hill to pursue a summer of research has been refreshing, Nair says, because she has been thrown into "what feels like the real world." Being immersed in a lab environment and working every day with older, more experienced scientists has enabled her to learn a great deal. Having completed internships at hospitals in London and Singapore in the past, Nair has some experience with such real-life applications of her studies. "I think it is so important to expose yourself to such an environment because it reminds you of what you are working towards and that is often lost in the Hamilton frenzy," she says.
Excitement at UCLA wasn't just caused by the research, though: Nair was standing in the lab sectioning a mouse brain when the ground started to vibrate. "At first, I had no clue about what was going on, and then I looked outside and saw the whole building begin to shake," she recalls. "I turned around and I heard my lab colleagues say, 'earthquake!'" While most of the researchers ran for the doorway, the native Californians calmly continued to go about their business. The earthquake, although it only lasted for a few seconds, was "scary nonetheless."
The project has completely changed Nair's perspective on scientific research, and has made her see working in a lab as a possibility for her future career. "Going to lab everyday for ten weeks never felt like work," she notes. A neuroscience major with a minor in government, Nair will be working as an EMT on campus this year, and says she will "definitely be returning" to continue research at Carmichael Lab next summer. After Hamilton she plans to study neuroscience at medical school, possibly at UCLA. Eventually, Nair hopes to take part in Doctors without Borders to make a difference in areas that need healthcare aid.
-- by Laura Bramley
