wgreenou@uiuc.edu
2325 Beckman Institute
Office: (217) 333-4472
Lab: (217) 333-1838
Fax: (217) 244-5180
Mail to:
Dept. of Cell and Developmental Biology
University of Illinois
2325 Beckman Institute
405 N. Mathews
Urbana, IL 61801
William Greenough
Swanlund Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry
Member, National Academy of Sciences
Education
A.B., University of Oregon-Eugene
M.A./Ph.D., University of California-Los Angeles (Psychology)
Brain plasticity in learning and memory; cellular signalling in brain plasticity; mechanisms of brain development; role of experience in brain maturation
Our earlier work showed that, in animals reared in complex social and sensory environments, neurons had more extensive dendritic fields and more synapses than in "normal" cage-reared animals. Similar results were found with adult rats, suggesting that new synapses underlie memory. More recently, we have found that various forms of adult learning also increase synapse numbers. Similar or greater amounts of activity that do not involve learning do not substantially affect numbers of synapses, although extensive physical activity does alter brain vasculature. We recently discovered that proteins are synthesized at synapses in response to neurotransmitter activation of postsynaptic receptors; we have worked out many details of a novel signalling pathway that leads from glutamate receptor activation to protein synthesis. Recently, several findings have drawn our attention to basic research approaches to human medical problems. We have discovered that a number of proteins, including FMRP, the protein that is missing in fragile X mental retardation syndrome, are synthesized at the synapse under the control of this pathway. To further specify the relationship between synaptic change and brain function, we are (1) studying the roles of various cellular signalling and regulatory mechanisms in learning and memory; (2) examining the mechanisms coordinating neural, glial, and vascular responses to the demands of experience; (3) examining the effects of learning upon the morphology of cerebellar neurons and their synapses; and (4) pursuing the detailed circuitry involved in motor learning, using electrophysiological assessment in vivo and in vitro, immunocytochemistry, in situ hybridization, optical and electron microscopy, and computer-based analytic and reconstruction techniques.
Other research areas: Quantitative stereology; roles of sensory experience, hormones, and neurotrophic and neuromodulatory substances in mammalian brain development.
Representative Publications
Weiler, I.J., Spangler, C.C., Klintsova, A.Y., Grossman, A.W., Kim, S.H., Bertaina-Anglade, V., Khaliq, H., de Vries, F.E., Lambers, F.A.E., Hatia, F., Base, C.K., and Greenough, W.T. 2004. Fragile X mental retardation protein is necessary for neurotransmitter-activated protein translation at synapses. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 101:17504-9. [Abstract]
Klintsova, A.Y., Dickson, E., Yoshida, R., and Greenough, W.T. 2004. Altered expression of BDNF and its high affinity receptor TrkB in response to complex motor learning and moderate exercise. Brain Res, 1028:92-104. [Abstract]
Briones, T.L., Klintsova, A.Y., and Greenough, W.T. 2004. Stability of synaptic plasticity in the adult rat visual cortex induced by complex environment exposure. Brain Res. 1018(1):130-5. [Abstract]
Beckel-Mitchener, A. and Greenough, W.T. 2004. Correlates across the structural, functional, and molecular phenotypes of fragile X syndrome. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 10:53-9. [Abstract]
Black, J.E., Kodish, I., Grossman, A.W., Klintsova, A.Y., Orlovskaya, D., Vostrikov, V., Uranova, N., and Greenough, W.T. 2004. Pathology of Layer V pyramidal neurons in schizophrenic prefrontal cortex. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161:742-4. [Abstract]
Galvez, R., Gopal, A.R., and Greenough, W.T. 2003. Somatosensory cortical barrel dendritic abnormalities in a mouse model of the fragile X mental retardation syndrome. Brain Research, 971:83-9. [Abstract]