Photo By Megan Mudersbach | Dr. Andrew Koesters, neuroscientist, sits next to a biosafety cabinet to culture...... read more read more
By: Dr. Andrew Koesters, Neuroscientist
Military service members become exposed to a wide variety of hazardous substances that have the potential to produce adverse health effects. Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton’s (NAMRU-Dayton) Environmental Health Effects Laboratory (EHEL) is charged with investigating health effects of environmental hazards and stressors to develop health protective exposure standards. Funded by the Navy In-House Laboratory Independent Research Program (ILIR), neuroscientist and principal investigator Dr. Andrew Koesters, is conducting a study to better understand neurological function post exposure.
Previous studies indicate exposure to lead may result in lead poisoning, which is multi-symptomatic in nature and known to be especially lethal to the nervous system. Firing ranges, both civilian and military, have been recognized as sites for possible lead exposure and toxicity, by inhalation of fumes and dust, ingestion via contaminated hands, or through contact with the skin that can have varying effects depending if the exposure is acute or chronic. Acute exposure commonly involves a rapid onset of nausea, headache, and/or cognitive impairment, while chronic, long-term exposure has a higher incidence of neurodegeneration and psychiatric disorders.
The nervous system relies on its ability to respond and adapt to changes in its activity levels, called ‘synaptic plasticity’. Effective functioning of this process underlies normal neurological functions such as movement, thinking, learning and memory, and perception, and malfunctioning of this plasticity could trigger a variety of psychiatric, cognitive, and neurological disorders. There are several ways that the brain employs these plasticity mechanisms, which serve different functional purposes. One type of plasticity is thought to be responsible for learning and memory, and it has been established that lead can impair this process resulting in cognitive deficits. More recently, lead has also been linked to another type of plasticity, homeostatic plasticity, in the brain that is believed to stabilize neuronal function. Although it has been known that lead results in nervous system dysfunction and neurological impairments, it is still not known how.
Using these links between lead exposure and altered homeostatic plasticity within the brain, Dr. Koesters hopes this research will eventually result in new preventative or intervention countermeasures to lead poisoning and to develop new models that the military, academia, and industry can use to better investigate neurological function.
| Date Taken: | 09.11.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 09.11.2019 17:18 |
| Story ID: | 339893 |
| Location: | WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Developing Novel Neuronal Models to Advance Neurological Function Research, by Megan Mudersbach, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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