Molecular Neuroscience Molecular Neuroscience Molecular neurobiology is the study of the role of individual molecules in the nervous system.
Research is particularly strong in the area of synaptic neurotransmission.
The propagation of electrical signals and the communication between cells at chemical synapses is the basis of all neuronal information processing. Neuronal signalling is mediated by ion channels, neurotransmitters and their receptors. Work in this area encompasses a broad range of approaches. Studies of GABA and glutamate receptors, for example, range from electrophysiological characterization of channel properties, to genetic analysis of whole animals with mutant receptors, to studies of the role of these receptors in epilepsy. An unusual aspect of ion channel research at Utah is the close connection between the study of ion channels and of diseases caused by aberrations in these channels.