NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2000

Smith, Dani R, Brooklyn NY

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for 2000. The research and training plan is in the area of Behavioral Neuroscience and is entitled "Regulation of Synaptic Plasticity by Subpopulations of NMDA Receptors". Long-term potentiation (LTP), long-term depression (LTD), and depotentiation are persistent and long-lasting changes in synaptic function that may underlie the cellular mechanisms for learning and memory. This research examines the function of the NMDA receptor (a post-synaptic receptor that induces neuronal firing in glutaminergic neurons) in LTP, LTD, and depotentiation. The role of specific NMDA receptor subunits (i.e. components) is assessed in the hippocampus of mice, an area of the brain involved in learning and memory. This is accomplished via use of inhibitory chemicals that have binding affinities to specific subunits, as well as by use of gene-targeted knockout mice (mice whose genes encoding specific receptor subunits have been deleted and therefore do not express them). In addition, to determine if LTD and depotentiation share similar maintenance mechanisms, biochemical assays are performed to ascertain shared properties with respect to protein kinase C. This research will broaden current understanding of the molecular basis of synaptic plasticity.