The Synaptic Basis of Behavior

The nervous system processes information at synapses, specialized sites of communication between neurons. At synapses, neural activity is transformed into the release of chemical neurotransmitter that activates postsynaptic receptors. Postsynaptic differences in receptors regulate synaptic strength, but presynaptic variation in the properties of release extracts different information from neural firing, such as about timing and frequency. The amount of transmitter released per synaptic vesicle also determines which receptors are activated, on which cells and to what extent. However, we do not understand basic aspects of transmitter release, making it difficult to know how this process contributes to neural computation. Defects in neurotransmission also underlie neurological and psychiatric disease, but we do not understand how.

Lab Skiing trip at Mt.Shashta (Feb 2023)