Brain and Body Research Areas | Icahn School of Medicine

BRAIN-BODY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Research

This Brain-Body Research Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is one of the first research institutes in the nation to focus solely on how the brain and body interact. Research suggests that when our brain senses a threat in the environment (physical, psychological, or social), it sends signals through a network of peripheral nerves that mobilize our immune system to protect us from injury. While this is essential for survival, this excessive effect on the immune system can lead to or aggravate a variety of illnesses, including depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dermatitis, among many others. The interactions between the nervous and immune systems are representative of the brain’s mutual connections with all the other organs in the body. The food we eat also affects the gut microbiome, which affects both the immune and nervous systems. Our recent research has begun to understand the bidirectional connections between the brain and immune system that mediate these effects.

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Research Areas

The Brain-Body Research Institute is at the forefront of pioneering research in the area of brain-body cybernetics, delving into the intricate connections between signals originating within the body and their influence on our decisions and actions. Researchers are studying the neural networks that link body sensors to skeletomuscular effectors. Specifically, we make use of modern neurobiological tools to unveil the large-scale networks linking body parts to molecularly-identified neurons in the brain. A unique methodological approach involves using the vertebrate feeding system, including predatory hunting, as a model for studying body-brain communication. This system provides clear and measurable behavioral readouts, making feeding and prey capture ideal scenarios for investigating how signals from body sensors generate motor actions.

Body-brain cybernetics researchers include:

Ivan De Araujo, PhD

Researchers at our Institute are actively engaged in groundbreaking research in the area of chronic diseases. One key research focus within this domain is understanding how specific brain regions, through the control of peripheral nerves, modulate immune cell function. This intricate interplay is implicated in the development of damaged blood vessels, contributing to an increased risk for heart disease and depression. In collaboration with the Mount Sinai Drug Discovery Institute, we are committed to unraveling the molecular-level mechanisms of this process and provide a comprehensive understanding of the links between brain function, immune response, and chronic diseases.

The Institute's research also extends to brain and body interactions in diabetes. Using animal models of diabetes, researchers are identifying the ways in which long-term exposure to hyperglycemia can lead to increased susceptibility to stress, addiction, depression, or anxiety-like syndromes. The ultimate goal is to translate these findings into tangible insights for human patients, contributing to a deeper understanding of the complex connections between diabetes, mental health, and overall well-being.

Chronic disease researchers include:

The Institute is actively conducting groundbreaking research in the complex and multifaceted area of stress. A major research area being explored is how interleukins and other peripheral inflammatory molecules interact with the brain and vice versa to control disease. New research suggests that inflammatory molecules diffuse more readily into the brain following prolonged periods of stress in animal models. Brain imaging investigations propose that major depressive disorder patients may suffer from similar damage to blood vessels in the brain.

Our researchers are also investigating how chronic stress mobilizes the immune system and increases the production of monocytes, which produces inflammatory molecules called interleukins that circulate throughout the bloodstream. This can contribute to chronic pathology such as atherosclerosis, the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke. Therapeutic strategies to reduce inflammation are currently being tested for their antidepressant properties.

Additionally, we are working to understand how the brain and body interact during exposure to traumatic stress. Trauma-related disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involve dysregulation of cardiac and lung function. Our studies show that the brain sends a network of nerves through peripheral tissues and is directly involved in regulating cardiorespiratory function in response to traumatic stress. This type of bottom-up mechanistic approach aids in the development of novel and targeted therapeutics based on targeting brain-body interactions for the treatment of stress-related conditions.

Stress researchers include:

Researchers are leading a study exploring how the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) regulates physiological processes in the multiple peripheral systems, including the thyroid gland, bone, and gonads. However, our recent work highlights undiscovered roles for TSHR in the brain. Using RNAscope and immunofluorescence microscopy, we observed a high density of TSHRs in multiple sites of the mouse brain, including the bed nucleus of stria terminalis and substantia innominata, two regions important for anxiety. The density of TSHR in these brain regions was greater in female mice than male mice.

Our work in mice suggests that THSR receptor activity potentiates anxiety, and that maternal THSR activity is important for setting anxiety-like behavior in offspring. We also observed extremely high densities of TSHR in specialized glial cells called tanycytes. Tanycytes induce rapid structural remodeling of the blood-brain barrier near the metabolic hypothalamus under metabolic challenges such as hunger. Our team is now investigating the role of TSHR in stress-induced changes in blood-brain barrier permeability.

TSHR researchers include: