Description of projects available to graduate students:
Mechanisms of synaptic plasticity have traditionally been ascribed to higher-order sensory processing areas such as the cortex, whereas early sensory processing centers have been considered largely hard-wired. However, recent results from our lab and human studies have revealed remarkable evidence for cellular and behavioral mechanisms for learning and memory in early stages of sensory processing. We are investigating the cellular mechanisms underlying synaptic and intrinsic plasticity in sensory systems and in their role for normal and pathological sensory processing. A second area of our research focuses on tinnitus and its underlying cellular mechanisms. The nervous system is plastic; expression of neural plasticity can lead to compensation for loss of function and adaptation to changing demands. However, plasticity-induced changes can also cause signs and symptoms of disease, such as tinnitus. Our goal is to understand the maladaptive plasticity mechanisms underlying the development and the establishment of tinnitus.
Techniques graduate student will learn:
Thanos Tzounopoulos and his associates employ electrophysiological, biochemical, genetic, imaging, behavioral and computational approaches to answer these questions
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