Synopsis

From BeSTGRID

[edit] Molecular mechanisms of learning and memory

Project Lead

A/Prof Nigel Birch, Biological Sciences, tel: 81978

Contact

Victor Borges, Biological Sciences, Technician

Usage

2000GB

Project Description

One of the many intriguing questions in the neural sciences is: How are memories stored within the brain? Eric Kandel (Nobel Laureate, Kandel, 2001) stated “One of the most remarkable aspects of an animal’s behaviour is the ability to modify that behaviour by learning, an ability that reaches its highest form in human beings”. Many neurobiologists now strive to understand these important cognitive phenomena at the molecular level. We are interested in molecules that are expressed in the developing and adult nervous system which modulate nerve cell morphology and connectivity. Our approach is to manipulate levels of gene expression in cultured neurons, capture the changes by high resolution imaging of fixed and live cells, and then quantify the changes using image analysis software tools.