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| Heather A. Cameron, Ph.D., Investigator |
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Dr. Cameron received her B.S. from Yale University and her Ph.D. from the Rockefeller University, where she worked with Bruce McEwen and Elizabeth Gould examining neurogenesis in the adult rat dentate gyrus. During a postdoctoral fellowship with Ron McKay at NINDS, she determined the magnitude of adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus and investigated the effects of stress hormones on neurogenesis in the aging rat hippocampus. Dr. Cameron joined the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at NIMH as an Investigator in 2001. Her laboratory studies the regulation of adult neurogenesis and the role of the newly-born neurons in normal hippocampal function as well as in diseases involving the hippocampus.
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Staff:
- Jenna L Bowen, B.S., Postbaccalaureate IRTA bowenjl@mail.nih.gov
- Michelle Brewer, M.S., Biologist, (301) 451-8281 brewerm@mail.nih.gov
- Rayna M Carter, B.S., Graduate Student, (301) 451-8281 carterr2@mail.nih.gov
- April B Ryles, B.S., Postbaccalaureate IRTA rylesab@mail.nih.gov
- Jason S Snyder, Ph.D., Postdoctoral IRTA Fellow, (301) 451-8281 snyderjason@mail.nih.gov
- Amelie F Soumier, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow soumieraf@mail.nih.gov
Research Interests:
The dentate gyrus is one of only two brain regions that continue to produce large numbers of new neurons during adulthood. The goal of our research is to understand the function of adult neurogenesis by studying the regulation of granule cell birth, the properties of the new neurons, and the behavioral consequences of altering neurogenesis.
One focus of our work is understanding the basic developmental processes that continue in the dentate gyrus throughout adulthood. Many factors, including hormones, neurotransmitters, growth factors, and granule cell death regulate granule cell precursor proliferation, but we still do not have a complete picture of how these factors converge to regulate the opposing processes of cell birth and cell death. Understanding the dynamics of the granule cell population may provide clues to the function of the new neurons, e.g., whether they replace old granule cells or increase the size of the population. This work might also suggest ways to encourage neurogenesis in other brain regions.
Another aspect of our work involves exploring the effects of corticosteroids on the hippocampus. Psychosocial stress and corticosteroids, hormones released from the adrenal in response to stress, inhibit neurogenesis in the developing and adult dentate gyrus. We have found that corticosteroids are responsible for the inhibition of neurogenesis observed in very old rats; removing corticosteroids from aged rats restores the rate of neurogenesis to that seen in young adults. We plan to investigate whether restoring neurogenesis resolves the memory deficits of aged rats. This work is likely to have implications for benign senescent memory loss in humans, as well other conditions associated with high corticosteroid levels and structural changes in the hippocampus, including chronic stress, major depression, and therapeutic use of corticosteroid medications.
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Selected Recent Publications:
Snyder JS, Radik R, Wojtowicz JM, Cameron HA (2009) Anatomical gradients of adult neurogenesis and activity: young neurons in the ventral dentate gyrus are activated by water maze training, Hippocampus 19, 360-370.
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Snyder JS, Glover L, Sanzone KM, Kamhi JF, Cameron HA (2009) The effects of exercise and stress on the survival and maturation of adult-generated granule cells, Hippocampus.
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Snyder JS, Radik R, Wojtowicz JM, Cameron HA (2009) Septo-temporal gradients of neurogenesis and activity in 13-month-old rats., Neurobiol Aging online.
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Cameron HA, Dayer AG (2008) New interneurons in the adult neocortex: small, sparse, but significant?, Biological Psychiatry.
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Olariu A, Cleaver KM, Cameron HA (2007) Decreased neurogenesis in aged rats results from loss of granule cell precursors without lengthening of the cell cycle, J Comp Neurol 501, 659-667.
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Karten YJ, Jones MA, Jeurling SI, Cameron HA (2006) GABAergic signaling in young granule cells in the adult rat and mouse dentate gyrus, Hippocampus 16, 312-320.
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Dayer AG, Cleaver KM, Abouantoun T, Cameron HA (2005) New GABAergic interneurons in the adult neocortex and striatum are generated from different precursors, J Cell Biol 168, 415-427.
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All Selected Publications
Contact Information:
Dr. Heather A. Cameron
Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, NIMH
Porter Neuroscience Research Center
Building 35, Room 3C-915
35 Lincoln Drive, MSC 3718
Bethesda, MD 20892-3718
Telephone: (301) 496-3814 (office),
(301) 480-4564 (fax)
Email: heathercameron@mail.nih.gov
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