Mechanisms Underlying Synaptic Communication and Plasticity
We study processes that modify the brain and, thereby, underlie learned or shaped behaviors. Our research extends from molecules and synapses to in vivo, electrode recordings of neuronal activity in awake behaving rats and mice. The specializations that occur where neurons meet, called synapses, provide the pathways for electrical communication between neurons in the brain. The electrical activity at synapses processes information and underlies learning, memory, and behavior. Our approach to understand the brain arises from the hypothesis that fundamental mechanisms subserve synaptic communication and synaptic changes. The consequences of those changes in neuronal activity can be studied with in vivo measurements during behavioral tasks. The same cellular mechanisms that normally serve the brain can be misdirected during disease and can be commandeered by drugs during the addiction process. Therefore, the mechanisms underlying synaptic functions offer points of entry for methods aimed at relieving or preventing abnormal processes or maladaptive behaviors of diseases and drug addiction.
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Present Study
Dopamine Enables In Vivo Synaptic Plasticity Associated with the
Addictive Drug Nicotine VIEW DETAILS