Seminars are open to all visitors and start Monday at 16:00 sharp. Coffee and tea will be served from 15:45. The seminar series lectures are in a colloquiumzaal at the third floor (entrance level) of the Faculty building of Erasmus MC.
Richard Huganir
Regulation of glutamate receptors and synaptic plasticity in the brain
| 2008-07-08 | Room: AE406 |
Neurotransmitter receptors mediate signal transduction at synaptic connections between neurons in the brain. We have been studying the molecular mechanisms in the regulation of neurotransmitter receptor function and synaptic transmission in the brain. We have recently focused on AMPA- and NMDA-type glutamate receptors, the major excitatory receptors in the central nervous system. We have examined the modulation of receptor function by protein phosphorylation and the regulation of the subcellular targeting of glutamate receptors to synapses. We have identified a variety of proteins that directly interact with glutamate receptors that are critical in the proper subcellular trafficking of these receptors and synaptic plasticity in the brain. These studies indicate that regulation of receptor function is a major mechanism for the regulation of synaptic transmission in the brain and may be an important determinant of animal behavior.