Principal Investigator Martha Constantine-Paton
Professor Constantine-Paton studies the formation and modification of synapses -- the interconnections between neurons -- in order to understand how experience shapes the wiring of the brain. By studying individual neurons in the visual system of developing animals, she has shown that a class of molecules known as NMDA receptors plays an essential role in setting the strengths of synapses. NMDA receptors are thought to underlie many aspects of learning throughout life, and Constantine-Paton is interested in the role these receptors play in developmental disorders that have their origins in early life.