Vadim Bolshakov
Vadim Bolshakov is a Russian-born American neuroscientist, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.[1] He has been Director of the Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory at McLean Hospital since 1999. He received The Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund award in 2001[2][3] and NARSAD Distinguished Investigator award in 2013.[4]
Bolshakov is an associate editor of Frontiers in Neural Circuits, published by Frontiers,[5] an associate editor of Neurochemistry International, published by Elsevier, and a consulting editor of Amino Acids, published by Springer.[6] He presently serves on the Scientific Council of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.[7]
In his work, he focuses on understanding the cellular and neural network-level mechanisms of learned and innate behaviors with an emphasis on studies of fear mechanisms in the brain. He demonstrated that negatively-charged memories, resulting in uncontrollable fear and anxiety, are associated with long-term functional changes at synaptic contacts in the amygdala.[8][9][10][11] He also demonstrated that these aversive memories, as well as synaptic modifications associated with them, can be controlled by the expression of specific genes in brain regions responsible for emotional states.[12][13] Overall, his findings provide evidence that synaptic plasticity in specific projections within behavior-controlling neural circuits may serve as a cellular mechanism of memory formation and retention.[14]
References
- ↑ "Vadim Bolshakov". pinphd.hms.harvard.edu.
- ↑ "Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund". Klingenstein Philanthropies.
- ↑ "Vadim Bolshakov, Ph.D." Klingenstein Philanthropies.
- ↑ "The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Awards $1.5 Million in NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants to Fund Cutting-Edge Research". The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Awards $1.5 Million in NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants to Fund Cutting-Edge Research | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. November 7, 2013.
- ↑ "Frontiers in Neural Circuits | Editorial board". www.frontiersin.org.
- ↑ "Amino Acids". SpringerLink.
- ↑ "Vadim Bolshakov, Ph.D." Vadim Bolshakov, Ph.D. | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. October 7, 2021.
- ↑ Tsvetkov, E.; Carlezon, W. A.; Benes, F. M.; Kandel, E. R.; Bolshakov, V. Y. (2002). "Fear Conditioning Occludes LTP-Induced Presynaptic Enhancement of Synaptic Transmission in the Cortical Pathway to the Lateral Amygdala: Neuron". Neuron. 34 (2): 289–300. doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(02)00645-1. PMID 11970870.
- ↑ "Brain changes in learning measured". Harvard Gazette. May 30, 2002.
- ↑ Cho, J. H.; Deisseroth, K.; Bolshakov, V. Y. (2013). "Synaptic Encoding of Fear Extinction in mPFC-amygdala Circuits: Neuron". Neuron. 80 (6): 1491–1907. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2013.09.025. PMC 3872173. PMID 24290204.
- ↑ Newsweek Staff (August 19, 2007). "The Mechanics of Trauma". Newsweek.
- ↑ "Researchers find a gene for fear". Harvard Gazette. December 1, 2005.
- ↑ "Mutant Mouse Gene Quells Fear | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com.
- ↑ Luchkina, Natalia V.; Bolshakov, Vadim Y. (January 1, 2019). "Mechanisms of fear learning and extinction: synaptic plasticity–fear memory connection". Psychopharmacology. 236 (1): 163–182. doi:10.1007/s00213-018-5104-4. PMC 6374177. PMID 30415278.