Guoping Feng

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Guoping Feng (* 1960 in Zhejiang , People's Republic of China ) is a Sino-American neuroscientist.

Feng studied at the State University of New York at Buffalo , where he received his PhD. He was a professor at Duke University and then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , where he has been at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research from 2010. He is Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at MIT:

He examines the role of synapse disorders in mental illness. He was able to show that in the mouse model ( knockout mice ) mutations in individual genes that code for certain proteins at the synapses (more precisely in the postsynaptic density, PSD) trigger behavioral abnormalities that are reminiscent of human mental illnesses. In 2011 he found that mutations in the SAPAP3 gene (which is particularly active in the striatum ) lead to repetitive behavior (frequent cleaning) that is similar to an obsessive-compulsive disorder in humans. Changes in the Shank 3 protein lead to behavior similar to autism in humans. The mice show compulsive behavior (frequent cleaning up to self-mutilation and continued even on the day on which they normally rest) and deficits in social connections (they avoid contact with other mice). The Shank 3 protein is involved in the postsynaptic processing of transmitter signals at the synapses. Like SAPAP3, Shank 3 (which interacts with SAPAP3) is primarily active in the striatum.

With another mutation of Shank 3, the mice showed excessive aggressive behavior: they removed all facial hair from the other mice. Typically, a dominant mouse would only pluck out a few whiskers from subordinate mice.

In his research, he developed special genetic engineering methods such as mouse strains with light-sensitive ion channels in the neurons.

In 2002 he received the Beckman Young Investigator Award, in 2006 the McKnight Neuroscience of Brain Disorders Award and in 2006 the Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award. In 2019, Feng was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Feng et al. a .: Shank3 mutant mice display autistic-like behaviors and striatal dysfunction, Nature, Volume 472, 2011, pp. 437-442
  2. ↑ In 2014, scientists working with Yong-Hui Jiang (Duke University) also found increased DNA methylation in the Shank3 gene in human autistics, Jiang et al., Epigenetic Dysregulation of SHANK3 in Brain Tissues from Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Human Molecular Genetics 2013, abstract
  3. ↑ Johann Grolle, Vollrasur im Mauskäfig, Der Spiegel, No. 41, 2015, p. 114
  4. ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter F. (PDF; 815 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved October 18, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Feng, guoping
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Chinese-American neuroscientist
DATE OF BIRTH 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Zhejiang , People's Republic of China