The characteristic functions of tissues and organs in our bodies result from the integrated activity of individual cells. Nowhere is this more evident than in the human brain where the coordinated activity of billions of single neurons mediate complex behaviors including those that are uniquely human such as generation of language and abstract thought. A toddlers acquisition of language and a senior citizen learning to play piano for the first time, rely on the ability modify connections between individual neurons in both the developing and mature brain. While the functional output of the human brain is undeniably unique among the animal kingdom, recent studies have demonstrated that the basic rules governing formation and modification of connections between neurons has been highly conserved during evolution.
In our lab we study the activity of living neurons from the brains of both flies and mice. Using molecular genetic approaches we are exploring the role of specific genes in regulating functional plasticity of neural circuits.
We are also examining how environmental factors such as exposure to specific drugs, including nicotine, can influence information transfer between neurons. A basic understanding of the genes and environmental factors that influence information processing between small groups of neurons is key to development of drugs and gene therapies aimed at restoring normal activity in the human brain that has been damaged by injury, disease, or exposure to drugs of abuse.
These studies will also provide important clues as to the factors that might enhance normal cognitive function both during development and in the mature human brain.