Project 15

Bridging guidance cues and activity: how to lead a horse to water and make it drink

The development of normal brain circuitry involves many molecular events. The first of these is the expression of guidance cues that guide incoming axons to approximately correct locations within the target . The second is the expression of molecules involved in strengthening functionally appropriate connections (NMDA and GABA receptors) to produce a fine-tuned functional map (activity-dependent mechanisms). Guidance cues such as the Ephs and ephrins lead the horse to water, but only the appropriate expression and function of neurotransmitter receptors will allow it to drink.

This project addresses how guidance cues and neurotransmitter receptors work together to establish normal function. Techniques include single cell patch clamp recording and protein immunoprecipitation to characterise the physical and functional interactions between Eph receptors and excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors during normal development and in knockout animals.