
Lynch Labs researchers cope with stretches of mixed and confusing results in different ways. Gary Lynch amused himself by flying to San Jose to pick up a brand-new Chevrolet Corvette to replace his 1987 Ford Mustang. A drag-racer in his youth, he drove his new car back that night. (Mark Boster / LAT)

Eniko Kramar, a neurophysiologist, comforts the rats used in her research before they go through trials and eventual death. Lynch Lab in Irvine almost exclusively uses rats in its memory research. (Mark Boster / LAT)

Electronic probes stimulate the cells on slices of rat brain and record the response. But the readings dont come easily. (Mark Boster / LAT)