Neurotransmission and signaling

Description of projects available to graduate students:
Synaptic function is imaged optically in transgenic Drosophila and rat brain slices using indicators of transmitter release, vesicle and protein motion and calcium signaling (see recent papers in Cell, PNAS and J. Neuroscience).

Techniques graduate student will learn:
Wide field, confocal and multiphoton microscopy are used to acquire data. New indicators are generated with molecular biology. The lab also uses patch clamping in the brain slice and nerve stimulation in fruit flies.