Their project focuses on nuclear receptors as cell intrinsic regulators underlying inflammation and stress-induced changes in hippocampal neurogenesis: relevance to cognitive disorders. Inflammation and stress are key factors in the manifestation of cognitive deficits associated with neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. We and others have previously shown that both inflammation and stress negatively affect a process called neurogenesis, which is the generation of new neurons from stem cells. This process occurs in the hippocampus of the adult brain, the primary brain region responsible for learning and memory and which also has a role to play in mood. It is established that nuclear receptors (particularly TLX) in the hippocampus play a role in neurogenesis and memory. Furthermore, a variety of nuclear receptors have been identified as a potential drug target for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders associated with cognitive dysfunction. The premise of this research programme is to investigate the involvement of the nuclear receptor TLX in inflammatory and stress-induced changes in adult rodent hippocampal neurogenesis, and to identify its consequent role in cognition. Dr. Nolan says that this research programme “will allow the establishment of a platform for future validation of a nuclear receptor as a specific drug target for cognitive dysfunction. It will thus contribute to the development of novel therapies for hippocampal-dependent cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and psychiatric disorders where there is currently a huge unmet medical need”.