Genetic analysis of neural-synaptobrevin function

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Trying to understand how the brain turns electrical and chemical signals into thoughts, meomories, and movements has fascinated mankind for centuries. Likewise, the devasting effects of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis prompt researchers to understand basic neural function in order to find cures for these diseases. Our research program takes a genetic approach to understanding basic questions in neurobiology, using the fruit fly as a test system. The nerve cells in the human brain and the fruit fly are remarkably similar in the way the develop and function, so when we learn something about a fly neuron we also learn something about ourselves. The work in the present proposal is aimed at understanding how one protein in the fly neuron contributes to its function. We aim to change individual components of this protein and then test how well the neuron functions after the change. We believe that these experiments will give us further insight into the detailed mechanisms of how neurons function, fly and human alike.