Dr. med. Andreas Vlachos

 

Neurons which are partially denervated after brain injury remodel their synaptic connections and eventually achieve a new stable state. Although this lesion-induced synaptic reorganization has long been described, its dynamics and the underlying molecular mechanisms are still insufficiently understood.

I am working in organotypic entorhino-hippocampal slice cultures, using imaging approaches (time-lapse imaging, calcium imaging) and electrophysiological techniques (patch-clamp recordings) to study the functional and structural reorganization of dentate granule cells after acute entorhinal denervation. In particular I am interested in learning more about compensatory (=homeostatic) functional changes, which might in turn influence the synaptic reorganization process after denervation. Such function/structure interrelation could play a critical role in adjusting the connectivity pattern of neuronal networks to the strength of afferent innervation, both under pathological as well as physiological conditions.

 

geändert am 20. Juli 2011  E-Mail: WebmasterK.Lang@em.uni-frankfurt.de

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