It is well known that protein tau forms aggregates in the brain in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that are also known as tauopathies. Accumulation of protein tau in the brain leads to the cell toxicity and promotes the loss of synaptic plasticity, which in turn causes memory loss. As reported on Feb. 1, 2024, in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, assistant professor Tara Tracy and her research team from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging have discovered a protein in the brain that could restore this damage induced by protein tau.
The Society for Neuroscience named MIT Picower Professor Mark Bear a co-recipient of the 2023 Julius Axelrod Prize for his synaptic plasticity research, its translation to potential amblyopia and autism treatments, and his career of mentorship.