Welcome to the Department of Neurobiology
at Harvard Medical School
The Neurobiology Department, the first of its kind in the country, was established to bring together faculty of many disciplines including biochemistry, molecular biology, anatomy, physiology, and medicine, to study the development and function of the brain. Our scientists now pursue basic research programs that strive to understand how complex neural circuits are shaped and reshaped during the development of the brain and in the adult brain to generate thoughts and memories, to process sensory information and to drive behavior. Our studies have direct bearing on neurological diseases such as neurodegeneration, disorders of cognitive function, epilepsy and disorders of sensory information processing, and offer insights into potential therapies.
The faculty, staff and students of the department have contributed breakthrough discoveries in neuroscience and links to this website we hope will help you to understand what makes the department an exciting place to learn, teach and work. Explore and enjoy!
Recent publications from department members include:
Biased associative representations in parietal cortex.
Fitzgerald JK, Freedman DJ, Fanini A, Bennur S, Gold JI, Assad JA.
Neuron. 2013 Jan 9;77(1):180-91.
Permeation and block of TRPV1 channels by the cationic lidocaine derivative QX-314.
Puopolo M, Binshtok AM, Yao GL, Oh SB, Woolf CJ, Bean BP.
J Neurophysiol. 2013 Apr;109(7):1704-12.
The postnatal human filum terminale is a source of autologous multipotent neurospheres capable of generating motor neurons.
Jha RM, Liu X, Chrenek R, Madsen JR, Cardozo DL.
Neurosurgery. 2013 Jan;72(1):118-29.
Physostigmine and galanthamine bind in the presence of agonist at the canonical and noncanonical subunit interfaces of a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.
Hamouda AK, Kimm T, Cohen JB.
J Neurosci. 2013 Jan 9;33(2):485-94.
Identification of propofol binding sites in a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor with a photoreactive propofol analog.
Jayakar SS, Dailey WP, Eckenhoff RG, Cohen JB.
J Biol Chem. 2013 Mar 1;288(9):6178-89.
Tuning and timing in mammalian type I hair cells and calyceal synapses.
Songer JE, Eatock RA.
J Neurosci. 2013 Feb 20;33(8):3706-24.
Gata3 is a critical regulator of cochlear wiring.
Appler JM, Lu CC, Druckenbrod NR, Yu WM, Koundakjian EJ, Goodrich LV.
J Neurosci. 2013 Feb 20;33(8):3679-91.
Activity-dependent neuronal signalling and autism spectrum disorder.
Ebert DH, Greenberg ME.
Nature. 2013 Jan 17;493(7432):327-37.
The role and mechanism-of-action of Sema3E and Plexin-D1 in vascular and neural development.
Oh WJ, Gu C.
Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2013 Mar;24(3):156-62.
Single dopaminergic neurons that modulate aggression in Drosophila.
Alekseyenko OV, Chan YB, Li R, Kravitz EA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Apr 9;110(15):6151-6.
Runx1 controls terminal morphology and mechanosensitivity of VGLUT3-expressing C-mechanoreceptors.
Lou S, Duan B, Vong L, Lowell BB, Ma Q.
J Neurosci. 2013 Jan 16;33(3):870-82.
Metabotropic glutamate receptors drive global persistent inhibition in the visual thalamus.
Pressler RT, Regehr WG.
J Neurosci. 2013 Feb 6;33(6):2494-506.
Presynaptic calcium influx controls neurotransmitter release in part by regulating the effective size of the readily releasable pool.
Thanawala MS, Regehr WG.
J Neurosci. 2013 Mar 13;33(11):4625-33.
Hyperpolarization induces a long-term increase in the spontaneous firing rate of cerebellar Golgi cells.
Hull CA, Chu Y, Thanawala M, Regehr WG.
J Neurosci. 2013 Apr 3;33(14):5895-902.
Vesicular stomatitis virus with the rabies virus glycoprotein directs retrograde transsynaptic transport among neurons in vivo.
Beier KT, Saunders AB, Oldenburg IA, Sabatini BL, Cepko CL.
Front Neural Circuits. 2013;7:11.
Live-cell superresolution imaging by pulsed STED two-photon excitation microscopy.
Takasaki KT, Ding JB, Sabatini BL.
Biophys J. 2013 Feb 19;104(4):770-7.
Target-derived neurotrophins coordinate transcription and transport of bclw to prevent axonal degeneration.
Cosker KE, Pazyra-Murphy MF, Fenstermacher SJ, Segal RA.
J Neurosci. 2013 Mar 20;33(12):5195-207.
Asymmetric neurotransmitter release enables rapid odour lateralization in Drosophila.
Gaudry Q, Hong EJ, Kain J, de Bivort BL, Wilson RI.
Nature. 2013 Jan 17;493(7432):424-8.
Distinct roles of TRP channels in auditory transduction and amplification in Drosophila.
Lehnert BP, Baker AE, Gaudry Q, Chiang AS, Wilson RI.
Neuron. 2013 Jan 9;77(1):115-28.
Pain: morphine, metabolites, mambas, and mutations.
Woolf CJ.
Lancet Neurol. 2013 Jan;12(1):18-20.
The ketogenic diet: metabolic influences on brain excitability and epilepsy.
Lutas A, Yellen G.
Trends Neurosci. 2013 Jan;36(1):32-40.