Research
Molecular and cellular and systems mechanisms of learning and memory
Appointments
- Distinguished Professor– Neurobiology, Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences and Psychology
- Director–Integrative Center for Learning and Memory
- Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity
- Brain Research Institute
- Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology GPB Home Area
- Neuroscience GPB Home Area
Biography
The Silva laboratory is studying the biology of learning and memory. They are interested in the molecular, cellular and circuit processes that underlie the allocation, encoding and storage of information. To accomplish this they are using a variety of techniques including sophisticated molecular and genetic approaches, optical physiology, optogenetics, in vivo imaging and behavioral analysis.
Silva and colleagues have also studied the impact of these mechanisms in animal models of cognitive disorders, including intellectual disabilities. Based on these mechanistic studies, they have developed treatments for Neurofibromatosis type I and Tuberous Sclerosis, that are currently being tested in clinical trials.
The Silva laboratory is also developing bioinformatic strategies for tracking and planning experiments (researchmaps.org).
Publications
- Câmara, RSB, Abrão, DM, Lage, DP, Freitas, CS, Silva, AL, Cardoso, MM et al.. Comparison of a recombinant endonuclease III protein and its synthetic peptides in ELISA for the diagnosis of tegumentary leishmaniasis using human serum and urine samples: A preliminary study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2026;20 (6):e0014440. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0014440. PubMed PMID:42296080 .
- Arciniega, H, Wickham, A, Szekely, B, Kim, N, Cho, KI, Carrington, H et al.. Dose-dependent white matter changes associated with repetitive head impacts in former American football players. Brain Commun. 2026;8 (3):fcag195. doi: 10.1093/braincomms/fcag195. PubMed PMID:42293319 PubMed Central PMC13253572.
- Correa-Rotter, R, Rossing, P, Canziani, ME, Caramori, ML, Cherney, D, Cronin, L et al.. Post-Hoc Analysis on the Effects of Vicadrostat/Empagliflozin by CKD Severity/Hypertension Status. Kidney Int Rep. 2026;11 (7):106545. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2026.106545. PubMed PMID:42292647 PubMed Central PMC13259607.
- de Oliveira, SA, da Silva, AAS, Hinton, BT, Gomes, GF, Cunha, TM, Cerri, PS et al.. Correction: SARS-CoV-2 exploits steroidogenic machinery, triggers lipid metabolism for viral replication and induces immune response in Leydig cells of K18-hACE2 mice. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2026;16 :1871852. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2026.1871852. PubMed PMID:42291324 PubMed Central PMC13261316.
- Wyllie, K, Mok, ETY, Tran, QE, Filipe, EC, Chitty, JL, Enriquez, R et al.. Stromal peroxidasin drives early tumor growth in breast cancer. iScience. 2026;29 (6):116078. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.116078. PubMed PMID:42291185 PubMed Central PMC13253085.