A mariner like transposon gene identified for the first time in the human brain is being further analyzed to determine its role in the etiology of epilepsy. The figure on the right shows the dentate granule cell layer and molecular layer of the human hippocampus with immunoreactive NPY fibers as seen in dark field microscopy. The left panel shows the normal condition. In the right panel is the same area in a patient with cryptogenic temporal lobe epilepsy showing a tremendous increase in fibers throughout the molecular layer suggesting the possibility of axonal sprouting being involved in the reorganization of a human seizure focus. Research in neuroethology is concerned with the neural mechanisms of vocalization in birds and mammals.
Animals use their sounds in intra-specific communication, and reflect underlying emotional states.
I am interested in the question of why rather than how animals make different sounds in different behavioral contexts. To this end we apply a variety of neuroanatomical techniques along with electrical brain stimulation, in vivo dialysis and quantitative ethological analysis to identify the neural substrate of vocalization. In new studies to be undertaken Chick-Quail chimeras will be employed to study the genetic determinants of species typical vocalizations. Cellular and molecular alterations in partial epilepsy.