The cellular neuroscience group is united by an interest in biophysical, biochemical, and
molecular processes that govern the function of a variety of sensory receptors and
neurons. Intracellular recording, patch-clamp, and voltage-clamp techniques as well as
pharmacology and Ca2+ imaging are applied to a wide range of model systems including hair
cells in amphibia, chemosensory neurons in the nematode, photoreceptors in the horseshoe
crab and fruit fly, muscle cells of the tobacco moth heart, pyramidal cells of the rat
hippocampus, and olfactory neurons in salmon.
Much of the work in this group focuses on the activity and regulation of membrane currents and ion channels. Common themes in this research include the relationship between voltage-gated ion channels and whole-cell electrical properties (Lockery, O'Day, Roberts), ion currents in wild-type and mutant animals (Lockery, O'Day), the spatial distribution of voltage and ligand-gated channels (Roberts, Barbara Gordon-Lickey, Marvin Gordon-Lickey), and the effects of peptides and second-messenger systems on membrane currents (O'Day, Roberts, Tublitz).
A second focus is on the cellular mechanisms of sensory transduction. Several groups investigate the physiology of excitatory responses to sensory inputs in taste and olfaction (Lockery, Roberts, Takahashi), vision (O'Day), and hearing (Roberts). Other groups are concerned with how the response to sensory input is modified by experience through sensory adaptation. Topics here include the covalent modification of primary receptor molecules (Dahlquist), and the biochemical feedback pathways contributing to adaptation in photoreceptors (O'Day).