Weifeng Xu
Information processing in the nervous system depends on electrical signals moving along a single neuron, and chemical and electrical signals zapping among neurons. Professor Weifeng Xu's lab aims to unravel the dynamic interactions among neuronal proteins that are critical for neuronal plasticity.
Neurons constantly modify their molecular content to process and store information in the network. The ability of neurons and neuronal networks to change in response to experience is fundamental for learning and memory. Deregulation of neuron excitability and synaptic efficacy is often manifested in neurological and psychiatric disorders, and thought to underlie some of the cognitive impairments and dysfunctions often seen in these diseases.
Proteins are the key mediators of these processes and the prime targets for pharmacological interventions. Although the molecular components of these physiological phenomena have been uncovered in pioneering work, their precise function is still elusive. By manipulating molecules in single neurons and analyzing neurons' electrophysiological properties, we want to dissect the molecular machinery with unprecedented precision.
Using state-of-the-art techniques to knockout, over-express and replace genes, we manipulate synapses to see how those gene-driven changes play out at the circuit level and ultimately determine how behavior is modified by experience. PSD-95, a scaffolding protein believed to be a critical player in synaptic plasticity, is a major player of interest. We also look at how mechanisms underlying electrical signaling in the brain control information processing among neurons. If we know under normal conditions how synapses get stronger or weaker, we can start to understand deficits that affect cognitive function in aging, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, as well as the loss of neuronal connection in Parkinson's disease.
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