Synaptic Physiology Section - Division of Intramural Research

 Jeffrey S.  Diamond  Ph.D., Senior Investigator

Dr. Diamond received his B.S. from Duke University in 1989 and his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Francisco in 1994, where he studied synaptic excitation of retinal ganglion cells with David Copenhagen. During a postdoctoral fellowship with Craig Jahr at the Vollum Institute, he investigated the effects of glutamate transporters on excitatory synaptic transmission in the hippocampus. Dr. Diamond joined NINDS as an investigator in 1999, was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering in 2000 and was promoted to senior investigator in 2007. His laboratory explores the dynamics and modulation of transmitter diffusion and receptor activation at excitatory synapses in the mammalian CNS.

Laboratory Staff

Will Grimes, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow  301-435- 2750
Nicholas Oesch, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow 
Annalisa Scimemi, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow  301-402- 5446
Christopher Thomas, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow  301-496- 8252
Hua  Tian, B.S. Biologist 
Jun Zhang, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow  301-496- 8252

Research Interests

Excitatory, glutamatergic synapses mediate much of the interneuronal communication in the CNS. We have learned a great deal about the structural and molecular organization of these synapses, but many important physiological questions remain unresolved. How do the morphological characteristics of the synaptic cleft and the biophysical properties of neurotransmitter receptors influence synaptic signaling? How do transporters, which bind free glutamate and remove it from the extracellular space, limit the extent to which transmitter diffuses from its point of release? Can glutamate diffuse out of the cleft to activate receptors in neighboring synapses and, if so, how does this "spillover" degrade or enhance the information capacity of a neuronal network? How are these processes developmentally regulated? In the hippocampus, answers to these questions may give insight into the mechanisms by which learning and memory are implemented at the synaptic level. In the retina, they may help explain how visual information is transformed into a neural code and how the visual system's exquisite spatial acuity is preserved. We approach these questions experimentally using electrophysiological methods, including whole-cell recordings and excised patches, in hippocampal and retinal slice preparations.

Selected Recent Publications

Chavez AE, Singer JH and Diamond JS
Fast neurotransmitter release triggered by Ca influx through AMPA-type glutamate receptors - Nature  443 705-708 2006

Zhang J and Diamond JS
Distinct perisynaptic and synaptic localization of NMDA and AMPA receptors on ganglion cells in rat retina - J. Comp. Neurol.  498 810-820 2006

Singer JH and Diamond JS
Vesicle depletion and synaptic depression at a mammalian ribbon synapse - J. Neurophysiol.  95 3191-3198 2006

Diamond JS
Deriving the glutamate clearance time course from transporter currents in CA1 hippocampal astrocytes: transmitter uptake gets faster during development - J. Neurosci.  25 2906-2916 2005

Singer JH, Lassova L, Vardi N, and Diamond JS
Coordinated multivesicular release at a mammalian ribbon synapse - Nature Neurosci.  7 826-833 2004

Singer JH and Diamond JS
Sustained Ca2+ entry elicits transient postsynaptic currents at a retinal ribbon synapse - J. Neurosci.  23 10923-10933 2003

Selected Earlier Publications

Contact Information

Synaptic Physiology Section, NINDS Porter Neuroscience Research Center  Building 35, Room 3C-1000  35 Convent Drive, MSC 3701 Bethesda MD  20892-3701

Telephone: 301-435- 1896 (office), 301- 435-1897 (laboratory), 301-435- 1895 (fax), Email: diamondj@ninds.nih.gov