Alcino Jose Silva

Alcino Jose Silva is a Professor of Neurobiology and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His research focuses on understanding the molecular, cellular, circuit and behavioral mechanisms of memory and cognition, with applications to cognitive disorders.

Dr. Silva's research interests span multiple areas of neuroscience and cognitive science:

• Memory mechanisms: Investigating how memories are formed, stored, and linked across time
• Neural circuits: Examining how specific brain circuits support cognitive functions
• Dendritic plasticity: Studying how dendritic changes contribute to learning and memory
• Cognitive disorders: Developing treatments for conditions like neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, and other neurodevelopmental disorders
• Memory linking: Understanding how the brain connects related experiences across time

His recent work shows strong trends in memory linking mechanisms, particularly how the CCR5 receptor regulates the temporal window for connecting related memories. His lab has developed innovative tools like ResearchMaps.org for integrating and planning research, and has made significant contributions to understanding how dendritic plasticity, neural ensembles, and specific neural circuits (like the locus coeruleus-CA1 pathway) support memory formation and linking. His work spans from molecular mechanisms to circuit-level understanding of cognition.

• CCR5 Activation and Cognitive Dysfunction Caused by HIV-Proteins (R01NS106969)
• Molecular, Cellular and Circuit Mechanisms for Memory-linking deficits in Psychiatric Disorders (R01MH113071)
• Building and sharing next generation open-source, wireless, multichannel miniaturized microscopes (U01NS094286)
• Mechanisms for Neurological Dysfunction in NF1 (R01NS038480)

He leads the Silva Lab at UCLA, which focuses on understanding the fundamental mechanisms of how we know what we know, with particular emphasis on memory processes and their disruption in cognitive disorders. The lab employs a multidisciplinary approach combining molecular, cellular, circuit, and behavioral techniques to address fundamental questions in neuroscience.