New hippocampus model advances understanding of Alzheimer’s progression

With a new model of the brain region essential to memory formation, from cells to whole-brain networks, the team hopes to identify critical changes in the progression of Alzheimer's disease that could point the way to earlier, more effective treatments.

A team of researchers at the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has received a major grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate a long-standing mystery in Alzheimer's disease (AD): how does the loss of specific neurons in the hippocampus lead to the cognitive impairment seen in patients with AD?

Led by Michael S. Bienkowski, PhD, an assistant professor of physiology and neuroscience and of biomedical engineering at the Keck School of Medicine, the five-year NIH R01 award will support the development of a powerful new cell type-specific multiscale model of the hippocampus, a brain region essential for memory formation that is among the first areas affected by AD. A multiscale model is a way to connect information across different "levels" of the brain, from tiny details like cells and circuits to larger regions and whole-brain networks, so researchers can see how changes at one level affect the others.

AD affects more than 6 million Americans, a number expected to nearly double by 2050. Although the buildup of toxic proteins such as amyloid and tau is a hallmark of the disease, these changes do not damage all neurons equally. Understanding how specific cell types change over the course of the disease could reveal the circuits underlying cognitive impairment and dementia and identify new targets for earlier, more effective interventions.