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Collaborators:
Dr. Alcino Silva
University of California,
Los Angeles
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Dr.
Sandra Pena
The
research in my laboratory is dedicated to the understanding
of the neural basis of cognitive function and dysfunction. The
research is multidisciplinary as we intend to gain understanding
of the cellular and molecular events that subserve
aassociative processes in the brain related to the acquisition
and storage of information. Information is thought to be stored
in the brain as charges in synaptic strength and structure.
The activation od intracellular protein kinases,
sucha as the cAMP-dependent
protein kinase (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC), and the subsequent activation of the transcription
factor cAMP-Responsive Element Binding
Protein (CREB) are pivotal steps for the formation of long-term
memory in several neural substrates, including the hippocampus
nad amygdale. The behavioral paradigms utilized in our
research are the holeboard task for
spatial discrimination learning, condition taste aversion for
emotional learning, and environmental enrichment for developmental
learning. The current areas of research in the laboratory are:
1) cellular and molecular mechanisms fo hippocampal-dependent spatial
memory and amygdala-dependent emotional
memory; 2) possible similarities on memory storage between the
immune system and the brain; and 3) neuropsychotoxicology
of heavy metals, including inorganic lead. The approaches used
combine behavioral analysis of learning and memory in rodents
with cellular and molecular studies aimed at determinig
chages in gene expression and function. In particular,
we are using cDNA microarrays
amd bioinformatics tools, such as
gene clustering analysis, to asses the changes in gene expression
related to memory processes in the brain. As a whole, studies
in our laboratory have relevance to basic neuroscience, neuropsychiatric
illness, and neurotoxicology.
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