Welcome to Biomed Bites, a weekly feature that introduces readers to some of Stanford's most innovative researchers.
Fixing a broken brain is much like fixing a malfunctioning car, misbehaving computer or most anything else that isn't working as it should.
"Whenever we're trying to fix something that's broken, it can be very helpful indeed to understand how that thing works," says Stephen Smith, PhD, in the video above. "I believe the brain does not pose an exception to this rule."
That's why Smith, a professor of molecular and cellular biology, emeritus, has spent his career developing better ways to understand -- and see -- the brain.
Currently, he's most excited about a technique called array tomography that allows researchers to observe the brain's wiring, the linkages between neurons, and gain a better understanding of how it functions.
That technique, as well as others, offers real hope for fixing brains broken by autism, Alzheimer's disease or other brain disorders. Here's Smith:
I think the progress we're making today in understanding basic brain mechanisms is likely to help us greatly as we develop new drugs that can help lessen or reverse the wide array of neurodegenerative or neurodevelopmental or injury-related disorders of the brain.
Learn more about Stanford Medicine's Biomedical Innovation Initiative and about other faculty leaders who are driving biomedical innovation here.
Previously: Visualizing the brain as a Universe of synapses, Examining the potential of creating new synapses in old or damaged brains and Fantastic voyage: Stanford researcher offers a virtual flight through the brain
