O'Dell, Thomas
Titles
Professor, Physiology
Member, Brain Research Institute
Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology GPB Home Area
Neuroscience GPB Home Area
Contact Information
Office Phone Number: 310-206-4654
Work Address:
LaboratoryCHS
Los Angeles, CA 90095
UNITED STATES Office
NPI
Los Angeles, CA 90095
UNITED STATES
Biography
Synaptic and molecular mechanisms in learning and memory formation My lab is currently investigating the synaptic and molecular mechanisms involved in learning and memory formation in the mammalian central nervous system. Electrophysiological techniques are used to study synaptic transmission in a variety of in vitro preparations but most work concerns the mechanisms responsible for long-lasting changes in synaptic transmission that occur in the hippocampus, a region of the brain known to have an important role in learning and memory. In our experiments we use electrophysiological, pharmacological, and molecular genetic (transgenic mice) approaches to decipher the molecular components of the biochemical pathways responsible for memory formation in the mammalian brain and eventually hope to understand how alterations in these pathways may contribute to the memory impairment that occurs in pathological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease or even as a result of normal aging.