Ups and Downs in Research Support

Bistability in Purkinje neurons: Ups and downs in cerebellar research

The output of cerebellar Purkinje cells has been characterized extensively and theories regarding the role of simple spike (SS) and complex spike (CS) patterns have evolved through many different studies. A bistable pattern of SS output can be observed in vitro; however, differing views exist regarding the occurrence of bistable SS output in vivo. Bistability in Purkinje cell output is characte...

TRANSSENTENTIAL MEDITATIONS Ups and downs in dynamic semantics TRANSSENTENTIAL MEDITATIONS Ups and downs in dynamic semantics

Mdm2: the ups and downs.

Mdm2 was first described 12 years ago. Interest in this oncogene has risen since its identification as a protein that binds and efficiently inactivates the p53 tumor suppressor protein. This interest was further boosted by the discovery that the mdm2 gene is actually a target for direct transcriptional activation by p53, thus defining an autoregulatory feedback loop for the intracellular modula...

UPs and DOWNs in Cortical Computation

Forthcoming in Erkenntnis The Downs and Ups of Mechanistic Research: Circadian Rhythm Research as an Exemplar

In the context of mechanistic explanation, reductionistic research pursues a decomposition of complex systems into their component parts and operations. Using research on the mechanisms responsible for circadian rhythms, I consider both the gains that have been made by discovering genes and proteins that figure in these intracellular oscillators and also highlight the increasingly recognized ne...