The question of nurture versus nature in the development of behavior, and the mechanisms through which early experience influences neural development has been a running theme while researchers have tried to understand human behavior. Dr. Gregory Lnenicka is studying the degree to which the properties of nerve cell interconnections are determined by experience during postnatal development. He is studying this in an identified neuromuscular junction preparation. The relative simplicity of this system allows the activity of the synapses to be precisely altered for weeks, and subsequent changes in the synapses to be directly measured. The extent to which electrical activity influences the development of synapses will be explored using light and electron microscopy, and intracellular recording. This research will also examine the mechanisms involved in translating changes in electrical activity into changes in morphology and physiology including: the role of protein synthesis; the involvement of changes in ionic currents; and the location of the electrical changes in the cell which are effective in triggering the response. This work is important as Dr. Lnenicka attempts to unravel the intricate mechanisms underlying the development of human behavior.
