Grant: CIHR New Investigator

We study learning and memory in the brain, because this is important for essentially everything that the brain does. Neuroscientists believe that learning and memory as well as the refinement of neuronal circuits during development are due to changes in synaptic connections among interconnected neurons, known as synaptic plasticity. How the young brain is wired up as it grows and develops is still not fully understood. For example, the visual brain regions must actually learn how to see -- this is not innate but acquired via synaptic plasticity. This complicated process can go wrong in so-called synaptic diseases. We study synaptic plasticity in cells of the the visual brain region, how it works, and what it does to brain function. Synaptic plasticity is complex. It varies with cell type and brain region, because different cell types have different functions in the brain. To understand these functions, we investigate the different forms of plasticity that different brain cells are equipped with. The properties of different forms of synaptic plasticity are determined by their mechanisms, so to understand learning in brain we investigate these different mechanisms. For example, it should be possible to turn learning on and off so that only useful information is learned in the brain. We have discovered one such switch in the brain, which are now exploring. We also study the consequences of synaptic plasticity. Synaptic plasticity is for example needed to wire up the visual brain regions correctly so that we can see. But synaptic plasticity is also often involved when things go wrong. For example, sudden damage to the brain may produce too much activity in brain cells, which may via plasticity generate epilepsy in an otherwise healthy brain. Understanding synaptic plasticity is thus important for understanding the brain in health as well as in disease.