Video Text Alternative: The Hippocampus: A Window to Brain Research at NIH

To view the original video, please go to http://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/profiles/KnowNICHD/mcbain/Pages/default.aspx

Video/Graphics Audio
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Animation with effect of NIH/Eunice Kennedy ShriverNational Institute of Child Health and Human Development logo appearing and light reflecting off logo.
[MUSIC]
TITLE SLIDE:

The Hippocampus: A Window to Brain Research at NIH

A Get to Know NICHD Interview NIH/Eunice Kennedy ShriverNational Institute of Child Health and Human Development logo
 
Camera view of Dr. Chris McBain.

Banner Text: Chris J. McBain, Ph.D. Chief, Laboratory of Cellular and Synaptic Neurophysiology, NICHD
Dr. Chris McBain: As a graduate student, I was introduced to a cortical structure called the hippocampus, which mammals use as a navigational system as well as a system that is used to lay down short-term memories.
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Diagram of the human brain with animated labels appearing for the hippocampus and cerebral cortex.
Dr. McBain: One of the prices that mammals pay for having this hippocampus is that it’s also prone …
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Zoom out on image of brain cross-section, labeled “Mouse Brain With Hippocampus.”
Dr. McBain: ... to neural circuit disorders such as epilepsy …
Dr. McBain on camera. Dr. McBain: ... and is often damaged during stroke and is now implicated in disorders like Alzheimer’s.
(Edit/camera cut) Dr. McBain on camera. Dr. McBain: Many of these disorders take center stage inside the hippocampus or other parts of the cortex, and they’re typically involving changes in the way that cells communicate with each other.
(Edit/camera cut) Dr. McBain on camera. Dr. McBain: So my lab is primarily interested in cell excitability. And cell excitability is really how cells communicate with each other using electrical events. Like much of the power that we have coming out of our wall, cells use a million-fold less of these voltages or currents …
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Zoom in on image of fluorescently marked neurons, labeled “Electrically Connected Neurons.”
Dr. McBain: ... to trigger events that would allow communication across a circuit.
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Zoom in on image of fluorescently marked neurons in brain cross-section, labeled “Neurons Lit Up in Mouse Brain.”
Dr. McBain: What we do is we can study these small circuits and understand how they can be changed …
Dr. McBain on camera. Dr. McBain: ... by different types of activities or different types of events.
(Edit/camera cut) Dr. McBain on camera. Dr. McBain: The rewards of this research are twofold. The first is, …
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Video of Dr. McBain using a microscope.
Dr. McBain: … it allows us a greater understanding of how the human brain actually …
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Video of a researcher in the lab.
Dr. McBain: … works, how cells communicate with each other and how circuits are established and built.
Dr. McBain on camera. Dr. McBain: The second is, is that we can take this basic understanding of the brain and use it for the future treatment of neural circuit disorders.
(Edit/camera cut) Dr. McBain on camera. Dr. McBain: So the potential for this kind of research in helping us understand the conditions such as schizophrenia and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s is tremendous.
(Edit/camera cut) Dr. McBain on camera.

Banner text: Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative
Dr. McBain: The BRAIN Initiative is going to revolutionize how we do neurosciences.
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Zoom in on design with a brain scan and silhouette of the skull with text: “The BRAIN Initiative.” Sublabel: “National Institutes of Health.”
Dr. McBain: One of the main goals of neurosciences …
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Zoom in on image of fluorescently marked neuron in foreground, labeled “Closeup of a Single Neuron.”
Dr. McBain: … is to view in real time or in living tissue how cells are communicating with each other. So understanding …
Dr. McBain on camera. Dr. McBain: … what cells are involved and how those cells are communicating with each other is going to be really rapidly advanced with the emergence of new technologies that are supported by the BRAIN Initiative.
(Edit/camera cut) Dr. McBain on camera. Dr. McBain: One of the great things about doing neuroscience at the NIH is that you have access to many people across many different institutes. In fact, the strength of the Porter Neuroscience Building …
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Video of an outdoor wall labeled “John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center.”
Dr. McBain: … is that it’s home to individuals from over a …
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Video panning across the outside of the John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center.
Dr. McBain: … dozen institutes. The luxury that you have of being in the Porter neuroscience community is that …
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Video of Dr. McBain and approaching a colleague in the lab.
Dr. McBain: … you have a greater access to all sorts of people …
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Video of Dr. McBain in a lab near another researcher.
Dr. McBain: … from all sorts of walks of neurosciences. We share …
Dr. McBain on camera. Dr. McBain: … equipment; we share lab space; intellectually, we share ideas; and the walls between institutes have really been eliminated. In my view, this is probably the premier venue for doing neurosciences, and it’s great to be a part of the Porter neuroscience community.
(Edit/camera cut) Dr. McBain on camera. Dr. McBain: It’s a very rich time in the neurosciences, and I think the next decade is going to be a tremendous time.
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Video fades to text:

Credits

Images courtesy of the McBain laboratory

Side view image of brain courtesy of the National Institute on Aging/NIH

BRAIN Initiative cover courtesy of NIH; image credit: Harvard/MCH-UCLA Human Connectome Project consortium; THE BRAIN INITIATIVE and BRAIN RESEARCH THROUGH ADVANCING INNOVATIVE NEUROTECHNOLOGIES are service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

NIH/Eunice Kennedy ShriverNational Institute of Child Health and Human Development logo
 
GRAPHICS SLIDE:

Animation with effect of light reflecting off NIH/Eunice Kennedy ShriverNational Institute of Child Health and Human Development logo and logo disappearing
 
FADE TO BLACK SCREEN  
top of pageBACK TO TOP