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The Australian National University
The John Curtin School of Medical Research
ANU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES

Synapse and Hearing Laboratory

In order to understand the highly complex functions of the brain, we must understand how individual neurons communicate with each other. This communication occurs at specialized synaptic contacts, and the overall aim of our Group is to understand how synaptic strength is regulated, and how synaptic signals are processed by target neurons.

Group Leader: Professor Bruce Walmsley

E:Bruce.Walmsley@anu.edu.au

Group | Research | Recent papers | Collaborations

Dr Bruce Walmsley, Photo Marc Fenning

Walmsley group at Open Day 2003

Professor Bruce Walmsley BE, PhD, DSc - Group Leader

Dr Amy Eichner, BA, PhD - Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr Madeleine J Nicol, BSc, PhD - Visiting Fellow

Above:Amy, Monique, Bruce, Richardson, James and Kia at JCSMR Open Day, 2003.

Current Research projects:

  • The properties of neurons and synapses in the central auditory pathways of deaf mice
  • Ion channels and cell excitability of neurons of the auditory pathway
  • Developmental regulation of synaptic transmission
  • Ultrastructural investigation of presynaptic and postsynaptic features of central synapses
  • Immunohistological studies of postsynaptic receptor clusterin
  • Inhibitory synapses in a rat model of multiple sclerosis

 

A variety of experimental techniques are used in our laboratory:

  • Electrophysiological recording, incl patch-clamp techniques
  • Visualization of neurons and presynaptic terminals in thin slices, using infra-red video and differential interference microscopy
  • Fluorescence microscopy
  • Serial-section electron microscopy of axons, synaptic contacts and neurons
  • Three-dimensional reconstruction of synapses and neurons
  • Immunohistochemical labelling of postsynaptic receptors
  • Mathematical modelling and analysis of quantal synaptic transmission
  • Computational simulations of action potential propagation
  • Molecular, biochemical and pharmacological methods.

 

Collaborations

  • Professor REW Fyffe and Dr FJ Alvarez, Dept of Anatomy, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, USA
  • Dr ID Forsythe, Dept of Cell Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
  • Dr B Robertson, Dept of Biochemistry, Imperial College, London, UK
  • Professor T Takehashi, Univ of Tokyo, Japan
  • Dr RE Burke, NINDS, Natl Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA
  • Associate Professor R Shepherd and Dr A Paolini, University of Melbourne
  • Professor R Leao, Facukdade de Medicina de Ribeirao Preto, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto-SP, Brazil
  • Professor F Rattay, TU-BIOMED, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria

Hearing research techniques