Our goal is to use cutting-edge optogenetic, imaging, electrophysiological, and molecular biological techniques to gain a better understanding of the brain’s synaptic circuitry as well as the molecular/cellular mechanisms of synaptic function.
Introduction
We boasts ten research laboratories, all of which use state-of-the-art techniques in molecular biology, imaging, electrophysiology, and neuroinformatics. It tackles brain-related issues at the molecular level, the systemic level, and everything in between. Most of its research focuses on mammalian CNS.
Areas of Interest includes:
- Developing improved genetically encoded voltage sensors
- Understanding the cellular/molecular basis of long-term depression
- Using activity imaging to understand olfactory processing in the olfactory bulb and piriform cortex
- Measuring brain connectivity at the regional and cellular levels
- Studying the role of glia in brain function
- Determining stimulus selectivity of hippocampal “place” cells
- Imaging the mechanisms of neural circuitry development/remodeling
- Understanding the functional role of ion channels using protein-protein interaction tools
- Developing novel, user-friendly software for reconstructing and analyzing brain circuitry
- Exploring novel roles of intracellular organelles in synaptic function