Researchers from Brown's Carney Institute will investigate how the blood-brain barrier is involved in transmitting information to the brain, informing potential treatments for brain diseases and disorders.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - A $1.3 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to Brown University will fund research on how brain blood vessels relay real-time signals across the blood-brain barrier directly to the brain.
The research, which aims to shed light on the potential role of the blood-brain barrier in decision making, may provide valuable insights into treating brain diseases and disorders and reveal ways that the protective barrier is more dynamic than currently understood.
Led by Professor of Brain Science Christopher Moore, associate director of the Carney Institute for Brain Science at Brown University, the research team has found that blood vessels send signals through "plume events" that allow flashes of permeability across the otherwise highly restrictive barrier, which blocks toxins and harmful molecules from entering the brain.
"These moments when the blood-brain barrier opens allow the blood vessels to send signals where they are needed, and only when the risk is worth the reward," Moore said.
The new grant-funded research will build on emerging knowledge that cell types beyond neurons - including endothelial cells that line blood vessels - contribute to brain function.
"Mammalian brains evolved to make complex choices," Moore said. "The blood carries a rich range of signals from the body, so it makes sense that your brain might sample this information during moments of learning and choice in order to make those computations."
Prior to the team's research, it was unclear how the blood-brain barrier - thought to be mostly restrictive and only capable of slow, delayed transmissions - could relay signals in real time for decision making. According to Moore, plume events resolve this paradox.
