Background:
The efficiency, precision and plasticity of communication at synapses is diverse throughout the brain, yet fundamental to establishing, directing and adapting specific information routes and processes that underlie behavior. Projects in the laboratory address different aspects of our search for the fundamental biological rules by which the diversity of synaptic function contributes to the neural representation of the external and internal sensory world. The approaches used within the laboratory apply across multiple scales: at the nanoscale we study molecular and biophysical signaling within the synapse, at the micron scale we examine how single neurons integrate synaptic information, and at the millimeter scale we study the circuit wiring and function driving behavior. Microcircuit studies are generally performed, both in situ (acute brain slices) and in vivo, within the cerebellar cortex, and more recently, within neocortex. The laboratory is multidisciplinary, comprised of biologists, physicists and mathematicians in order to implement the experimental (optical and electrophysiological) and theoretical tools necessary for understanding the biological basis of sensory information processing. In addition pathology targeted projects examine how information processing is altered in neural circuits of mouse models brain disorders such as autism spectrum disorders.
Project:
Projects in the laboratory address different aspects of our search for the fundamental biological rules by which the diversity of synaptic function contributes to the neural representation of the external and internal sensory world.
Profile of the student:
We encourage quantitatively-minded students to contact us regarding projects in electrophysiology, optical imaging of neuronal signaling, microscopy development or computational neuroscience.
David DiGregorio ( david.digregorio@pasteur.fr )