The experimental approach includes the combination of electrophysiological and immunohistochemical techniques as well intradendritic injections of molecular probes. I have obtained evidence regarding two forms of long-term synaptic plasticity that may play an important role in the processing sensory information. These electrical synapses are unique in that they exhibit activity-dependent potentiation, just as their chemical counterparts. High frequency stimulation of the auditory afferents produces homosynaptic potentiation of both the electrical and glutamatergic components. The goal of my lab is then, to provide a description, at the cell biological and biophysical levels of the properties of electrical synapses in the context of the functional constraints imposed by a specific neural network.
Nerve injury induces gap junctional coupling among axotomized adult motor neurons.
Activity dependent short-term plasticity of intercellular coupling. Retrograde synaptic communication via gap junctions coupling auditory afferents to the Mauthner cell. Postsynaptic modulation of synaptic efficacy at mixed synapses on the Mauthner cell. Dopamine enhances both electrotonic coupling and chemical excitatory postsynaptic potentials at mixed synapses.