US DEPT OF HHS: NICHD researchers discover gene for major brain structure.

0 Comments | M2 Presswire, May, 1999

M2 PRESSWIRE-14 May 1999-US DEPT OF HHS: NICHD researchers discover gene for major brain structure (C)1994-99 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD RDATE:140599 Researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have discovered a gene that controls the development of the hippocampus, a brain structure crucial for learning and memory.

The work was performed by Yangu Zhao, PhD, and his colleagues, of NICHD's Laboratory of Mammalian Genes and Development, led by Heiner Westphal, MD, chief of the laboratory. The finding appears in the May 14th issue of "Science". "This work describes the function of a gene that controls the assembly of a brain structure crucial for high order mental functions," said NICHD Director Duane Alexander, MD. "The...