Members & Research

We are interested in how the neurons in the brain communicate with one another and how learning modifies this communication. Since the efficacy of information transfer between neurons is governed by the fundamental properties of synapses, we study these properties in neurons from mammalian hippocampus and cortex using biophysical, cell biological and molecular methods. One major area of interest is synaptic vesicle mobilization and release, which we can study by high-resolution (multi-photon) fluorescence microscopy. A second involves the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity including (i) how use of a synapse alters its strength, (ii) how the strength of a specific synapse can be modified without affecting its neighbors, and (iii) how changes in strength are consolidated over time. These phenomena are studied in vivo, as well as in fixed material.