Regulation of synaptic inhibition by GABAA receptor trafficking under normal conditions and in neurological and neuropsy

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Nerve cells send signals to each other by releasing chemicals called neurotransmitters at special sites called synapses. The neurotransmitters act on special proteins (receptors), allowing ions to cross the cell membrane, thus producing voltage changes across the membrane. My application is on two key aspects of brain function: (i) how neurons regulate the number of neurotransmitter receptor proteins present at synapses to control the size of the membrane voltage changes; and (ii) how this regulation may be altered in disease processes. Studying the molecular mechanisms that underlie these regulatory processes will allow us to understand better how the brain works under healthy conditions, and how dysregulation of these processes leads to altered electrical behaviour of nerve cells in disease. This work could lead the way to the development of new therapies in devastating diseases such as epilepsy, stroke, anxiety, Huntington‘s disease, substance abuse, depression, Parkinson‘s disease and autism.