Sarah DeGenova Ackerman – The Conversation

Astrocytes: these cells could be part of the key to unlocking the mystery of how brains change their structure. Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock

August 19, 2021

The biological switch that could turn neuroplasticity on and off in the brain – podcast

Daniel Merino, The Conversation and Gemma Ware, The Conversation

From the archive: new research helps unpick clues about the brain’s ability to change its structure. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.

Nicola Sturgeon wants to use a mandate at the May 6 elections to argue for a second independence referendum.

April 29, 2021

Scotland: Why May election is crucial for independence movement, and the UK – podcast

Daniel Merino, The Conversation and Gemma Ware, The Conversation

Plus, how researchers have discovered a biological switch that can turn neuroplasticity on and off in the brain. Listen to episode 13 of The Conversation Weekly podcast.

The colors in this microscope photo of a fruit fly brain show different types of neurons and the cells that surround them in the brain. Sarah DeGenova Ackerman

April 12, 2021

Astrocyte cells in the fruit fly brain are an on‑off switch that controls when neurons can change and grow

Sarah DeGenova Ackerman, University of Oregon

Adaptable neurons are tied to learning and memory but also to neurological disorders. By studying fruit flies, researchers found a mechanism that controls neuroplasticity.

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