Years ago, a Harvard undergraduate named Takao Hensch decided to spend a year conducting research in Japan. But lining up a position overseas proved tricky. “I put it…
Tag: Takao Hensch
Ketamine Response Cycles in Females [Hensch Lab]
Ketamine for clinical use is clouded in controversy. Hallucinogenic party drug (“Special K”) and well-known anesthetic, it is increasingly touted as a panacea at low-doses for unresponsive depression…
MCB Professor Wins Sackler Prize
MCB Professor Takao K. Hensch, who researches brain development with Harvard’s Center for Brain Science and Children’s Hospital Boston, has won the biannual Mortimer D. Sackler, M.D. Prize…
THINK GLOBALLY, RESEARCH INTERNATIONALLY: UNDERGRADUATE SCIENTISTS STUDY ABROAD IN JAPAN
"It all started from my own experience,” says MCB professor Takao Hensch of his thriving study abroad programs in Japan. When he graduated from Harvard College, he resolved…
CLOCK GENES TIME BRAIN DEVELOPMENT [HENSCH LAB]
Scientists have long known that humans and other animals have a master biological clock situated in a deep brain region called the hypothalamus. In this master clock, cells…
RESCUING SENSORY INTEGRATION IN MOUSE MODELS OF AUTISM [HENSCH LAB]
Many people with autism display atypical sensory processing, and in independent studies, abnormalities in a deep brain structure known as the insula. A new study from researchers at…
CHOROID PLEXUS A SOURCE OF KEY FACTOR IN BRAIN PLASTICITY [HENSCH LAB]
(l to r) Takao K. Hensch, Henry H.C. Lee, and Alain Prochiantz A small group of highly metabolically active neurons act as conductors in the symphony that is…
SHAPING MUSIC PREFERENCE IN MICE [HENSCH LAB]
Takao Hensch (l) and Eun-Jin Yang Behavioral preferences are shaped from an early age and often last a lifetime. Even before they are 1 week old, babies prefer…
NEW RESEARCH CENTER AIMS TO MAP BRAIN’S NERVE CIRCUITS IN SEARCH FOR CAUSES OF MENTAL ILLNESS
Scientists in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) and Center for Brain Science (CBS) have launched a high-tech effort to map the brain’s “wiring diagram” and…
SCULPTING SOUND SPACE IN THE DEVELOPING BRAIN
Brain functions, such as language, are shaped by experience during windows of heightened plasticity in early life. For example, children raised in an English- speaking environment will easily…
