Diaz Lab
Principal Investigator: Elva D Diaz
Institution: University of California, Davis (Davis, CA)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
ABSTRACT Activity-dependent variation in synaptic AMPA receptor (AMPAR) content, referred to as ‘synaptic plasticity’, is a mechanism whereby information is stored in neural networks that give rise to higher order cognitive skills such as learning and memory. During long-term potentiation (LTP), a widely studied form of synaptic plasticity, extrasynaptic AMPARs are recruited from nearby reserve pools, including perisynaptic regions on the cell surface and intracellular compartments, and subsequent anchored with the postsynaptic density (PSD). AMPARs are associated with a diverse suite of transmembrane auxiliary proteins that regulate trafficking and biophysical properties. A large body of evidence spanning decades of investigation has established mechanisms by which AMPARs are anchored within the PSD. In contrast, the molecular mechanisms that maintain AMPARs as reserve pools of extrasynaptic receptors are largely unknown. Given that recruitment of reserve pools of extrasynaptic AMPARs underlies the rapid strengthening of synapses that occurs during LTP, the molecular mechanisms that establish such reserve pools are critical to our understanding of synaptic plasticity and represent…
Active NIH Awards
- 1R01NS143775-01: Broadening access to neuroscience by understanding regulation of extrasynaptic AMPA receptors by transmembrane auxiliary proteins (2026)
- 3R01MH119347-05S1: SynDIG1/Prrt1 regulation of extrasynaptic GluA1-containing AMPARs during plasticity (2024)
Explore 700+ US Biology Labs on FindBioLabs.com