Fearless Leader
(which one???) Our laboratory uses
electrophysiological techniques to study the mechanisms of synaptic
transmission
and plasticity in the mammalian hippocampus. One of the main focuses in
the lab is in the
study of
synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP). LTP is the persistent increase
in synaptic strength
that occurs
after a period of heavy activity in a synaptic connection. It is the
most widely studied
and compelling
model for mechanisms underlying memory formation in the mammalian
central nervous system.
Most
recently, we have been involved in studies of LTP that occurs between
individual pairs of
neurons.
The other major focus of the lab is the study of the modulation and
short term plasticity
of inhibitory
synaptic transmission in the hippocampus by different neurotransmitter
systems. Projects
under this
focus include studies on the modulatory properties of norepinephrine,
acetylcholine and
opiates on
hippocampal inhibitory circuitry and transmitter release.
Studies in the lab are carried out using a full range of
electrophysiological techniques
including
extracellular field potential recording, intracellular recording,whole
cell and single
channel recording in
hippocampal slices and cultured neurons.
Ripped
from the headlines! News stories important to Dan.
11/8/05. Kansas
School Board passes resolution, declaring themselves
stupid!
Dateline:
Topeka. In a 6-4 vote today, the Kansas School Board decided that
they, and the children of Kansas, are too stupid to understand
evolution, and therefore, someone "really smart" must have done
it. In addition, the Board voted to redefine science so that it
is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations of
phenomena. For its next task, the board plans to vote a
resolution declaring that the study of history does not need to be
limited to things that actually happened.
Kansas School
Board member Kathy Martin caught in the act of being
stupid.
Our laboratory uses
electrophysiological techniques to study the mechanisms of synaptic
transmission
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