High-resolution optical approaches to study dendritic signaling

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Understanding the mechanisms by which nerve cells transmit information and adapt their communication has progressed through the identification of the molecular components of synapses as well as the electrochemical nature of synaptic signals. However, for the majority of these components and signals, we know little about how they operate, propagate and interact during neurotransmission. To fully understand how synapses work, we must be able to resolve their molecular components and elementary signals within living neural circuits and to monitor them at length and time scales relevant to neurotransmission. Toward this aim, we have developed a Neurophotonics Research Program focussing on the development of advanced optical methods -in some cases beyond the resolution of light- to resolve the spatial and temporal dynamics of proteins and signals during synaptic transmission and to determine how these dynamics affect synaptic function. This Program is at the interface between Optics and Neurobiology. It bridges recent advances in optical methods, fluorescent probes, and cellular and molecular neuroscience. It trains a new generation of HQP in Biophotonics, supported by our Training Program in Biophotonics.