Probing Glutamate Channels Activity in Epilepsy

Rapid communication between nerve cells in the brain is facilitated by a balance of excitatory and inhibitory connections. When the delicate balance between excitation and inhibition circuitry becomes disrupted, epilepsy or psychopathological diseases such as autism or schizophrenia may result.

Most rapid excitatory signaling in the brain is mediated by glutamate channels. These channels open when they bind glutamate and cause the postsynaptic nerve cell to become excited. The Benveniste laboratory specializes in measuring these excitatory electrical signals from single nerve cells in the brain. We probe for changes in the way these channels function in neurobiological disease models such as Epilepsy.
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Laboratory Members

Morris Benveniste, Ph.D.
Edyta Bichler-Murlin, Ph.D.

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