Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Controlling Synaptic Transmission

The goal of our lab is to identify cellular and molecular mechanisms that modulate synaptic transmission in the mammalian central nervous system. Our primary approach is to combine electrophysiology with pharmacology and molecular biology to investigate the role that specific proteins, and specific domains within proteins, play in modulating synaptic transmission. We use virally-mediated protein expression in cultured rodent hippocampal neurons as a model system. We are currently focusing on proteins implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, in an effort to better understand the role that synaptic dysfunction plays in the early cognitive deficits associated with this disease.