Professor Maffei’s research group is known for studies on the development and plasticity of the brain. Recent studies by this group have demonstrated that rodents’ brains are sensitive to the influences of the environment and in particular that maturation of the visual system is accelerated in an enriched environment, where animals can explore new objects, engage in physical exercise and play. The aim of this research was to clarify the molecular mechanisms that control this phenomenon.
Specifically, in this study a molecular factor, called Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), has been found to be capable of mediating the accelerated maturation of cortical development produced by enriched environment. The present work suggests that IGF-1 action in mediating the effects produced by environmental enrichment on visual system could be exerted through an accelerated maturation of inhibitory circuitry, the modulation of which has already been involved in cortical plasticity. IGF-I could influence the expression of other neurotrophins like NGF and BDNF, important for visual system plasticity. New studies could lead to a better understanding of the relationship between these molecules in the modulation of brain plasticity.
The Great Unknown: Risk-Taking Behavior in Adolescents
19.01.2017 | Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung
A sudden drop in outdoor temperature increases the risk of respiratory infections
11.01.2017 | University of Gothenburg
An important step towards a completely new experimental access to quantum physics has been made at University of Konstanz. The team of scientists headed by...
Yersiniae cause severe intestinal infections. Studies using Yersinia pseudotuberculosis as a model organism aim to elucidate the infection mechanisms of these...
Researchers from the University of Hamburg in Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, have synthesized a new superconducting material by growing a few layers of an antiferromagnetic transition-metal chalcogenide on a bismuth-based topological insulator, both being non-superconducting materials.
While superconductivity and magnetism are generally believed to be mutually exclusive, surprisingly, in this new material, superconducting correlations...
Laser-driving of semimetals allows creating novel quasiparticle states within condensed matter systems and switching between different states on ultrafast time scales
Studying properties of fundamental particles in condensed matter systems is a promising approach to quantum field theory. Quasiparticles offer the opportunity...
Among the general public, solar thermal energy is currently associated with dark blue, rectangular collectors on building roofs. Technologies are needed for aesthetically high quality architecture which offer the architect more room for manoeuvre when it comes to low- and plus-energy buildings. With the “ArKol” project, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE together with partners are currently developing two façade collectors for solar thermal energy generation, which permit a high degree of design flexibility: a strip collector for opaque façade sections and a solar thermal blind for transparent sections. The current state of the two developments will be presented at the BAU 2017 trade fair.
As part of the “ArKol – development of architecturally highly integrated façade collectors with heat pipes” project, Fraunhofer ISE together with its partners...
19.01.2017 | Event News
10.01.2017 | Event News
09.01.2017 | Event News
20.01.2017 | Awards Funding
20.01.2017 | Materials Sciences
20.01.2017 | Life Sciences