Section on Molecular Neurobiology

Head: Andres Buonanno

How experience and genes interact to remodel the nervous system during development is a central question in biology with major implications for disease. Our laboratory investigates the molecular mechanisms that regulate neuronal and muscle plasticity during development in response to experience. We are studying how the trophic differentiation factor known as neuregulin-1 (NRG-1) and its cognate receptor tyrosine kinases (ErbB 2-4) regulate synaptic plasticity in the brain and modulate behavior. Importantly, polymorphisms in the NRG-1 and ErbB-4 genes are associated with higher risk for developing schizophrenia, and the NRG/ErbB-4 signaling pathway is altered in post mortem brains of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia. Our laboratory also works to identify and characterize transcription factors that modify the contractile properties of skeletal muscles both during development and in response to different types of activity in the adult such as exercise.

Resources

• Employee Listing
• E-Mail the Lab: buonanno@helix.nih.gov