This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. My research focuses on how molecular cues guide the development and regeneration of neuronal dendrites. While some aspects of the dendritic arbor are influenced by genetic programs, other aspects are influenced by intercellular factors such as neurotrophins, guidance molecules, and activity. Neurons in developing animals appear very flexible and resilient to damage. This situation changes, however, in most adult organisms, and mature neurons respond poorly to injury or loss of input. A striking exception is the compensatory regeneration of cricket auditory interneurons. Past experiments have demonstrated that unilateral removal of the ear induces auditory interneuron dendrites to sprout new dendritic processes, even in the adult. After deafferentation, these dendrites, which normally respect the midline, cross over to the opposite side and become innervated by auditory afferents from the contralateral ear. This reinnervation is remarkably precise, reinstating interneuron-specific threshold and intensity responses. In my lab we hope to investigate the three-dimensional aspects of this regeneration.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 246 publications
