Despite tremendous complexity, neural circuits in the brain can also be
modified as the basis for our ability to learn and adapt to our environment.
How is plasticity within the nervous system controlled so that change remains
constructive rather than destructive? We are trying to define, at a cellular
and molecular level, how stabile neural function is maintained despite the
continual modification of neural circuitry. We combine Drosophila genetics/genomics
with electrophysiology and quantitative live imaging to identify genes that,
when knocked down or mutated, cause neural instability and degeneration, processes
directly related to the cause and progression of neural disease.
Selected Publications
Poskanzer, K.E. and Davis, G.W. (2004)
Mobilization and fusion of a non-recycling pool of synaptic vesicles under conditions of endocytic blockade.
Neuropharmacology. 47: 714-23.
Davis, G.W. (2000)
The Making of a Synapse.
Neuron 26, 551-554.
Davis, G.W., Schuster, C.M., and Goodman, C.S. (1996)
Genetic Dissection of Structural and Functional Components of Synaptic Plasticity III. CREB is Necessary for Presynaptic Functional Plasticity.
Neuron 17: 669-679.
Information last updated September 2007
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