Carl Wayne Cotman was an American neuroscientist. He was a professor of

neurology Neurology (from el, wikt:νεῦρον, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine), medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of co ...

at the

University of California, Irvine School of Medicine The University of California, Irvine School of Medicine (UC Irvine School of Medicine or UCI School of Medicine) is an LCME accredited medical school, co-located in Orange County's cities of Irvine on the University of California, Irvine campus ...

, where he was also the founding director of the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia and the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND). He is known for researching the

neurochemistry Neurochemistry is the study of chemicals, including neurotransmitters and other molecules such as psychopharmaceuticals and neuropeptides, that control and influence the physiology of the nervous system. This particular field within neuroscience e ...

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

and other forms of

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

. His research has shown, for example, that

physical exercise Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic ...

increases production of

brain-derived neurotropic factor Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), or abrineurin, is a protein found in the and the periphery. that, in humans, is encoded by the ''BDNF'' gene. BDNF is a member of the neurotrophin family of growth factors, which are related to the canon ...

, which protects

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. N ...

s from aging-related damage and promotes the growth of new ones.

References

External links

Faculty page
* Living people American neurologists American neuroscientists University of California, Irvine faculty Alzheimer's disease researchers Neurochemists Indiana University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American biochemists {{Neuroscientist-stub