Neuroscience

Advancing Our Understanding of the Human Brain

Brain diseases and disorders—such as depression and Alzheimer’s disease—cast a devastating toll on human lives. In order to pursue cures for these illnesses, neuroscience researchers must start by understanding the brain. This is one of the major frontiers in 21st-century medicine.

At UCLA Neuroscience, the collaborative community of scientists and physicians drives the field forward through a three-pronged approach:

•   Understanding the brain. UCLA engineers, computer scientists, geneticists, molecular and cell biologists, and physiologists work together to solve big questions in brain science. They seek to understand memory and emotion, as well as how neural circuits work, and how our environment impacts the way brains develop and change. By uncovering these mysteries, researchers might gain deeper insight into the human condition.

•   Uncovering the cause of brain diseases. UCLA neuroscientists study depression, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, among others. Neuroscientists examine large genetic studies in patient populations, neural imaging, stem cell biology, and detailed molecular studies. And interdisciplinary teams across UCLA partner together to look for critical clues to understand the cause of brain diseases.

•   Developing the cures of the future. UCLA neuroscience clinicians and scientists partner with a large and diverse patient population and seek to develop effective new treatments.

Your gift to the Neuroscience Research Fund can help researchers continue to study the brain to pursue cures—and change lives.