Jun Ding
Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor, Neurology & Neurological Sciences
- Member, Bio-X
Key Documents
Contact Information
- Academic Offices
Personal Information Email Tel (650) 736-9360 Tel (650) 723-5222Administrative Contact Marjorie Powell Grant/Program Administrator Email Tel Work 6507241243
Professional Overview
Administrative Appointments
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, SINTN, Stanford University School of Medicine (2012 - present)
Honors and Awards
- Klingenstein Fellowship Awards in Neuroscience, Klingenstein Foundation (2013)
- K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, NIH/NINDS (2011)
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Parkinsons Disease Foundation (2011)
Professional Education
| Ph.D.: | Interdepartmental Neuroscience PhD Program , Department of Physiology, Northwestern University, Neuroscience (2007) |
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
The interplay between motor cortex, sensory cortex, thalamus and basal ganglia is essential for neural computations involved in generating voluntary movements. Our goal is to dissect the functional organization of motor circuits, particularly cortico-thalamo-basal ganglia networks, using electrophysiology, 2-photon microscopy, optogenetics, and genetic tools. The long-term scientific goal of the lab is to construct functional circuit diagrams and establish causal relationships between activity in specific groups of neurons, circuit function, animal motor behavior and motor learning, and thereby to decipher how the basal ganglia process information and guide motor behavior. We will achieve this by investigating the synaptic organization and function that involve the cortex, thalamus and basal ganglia at the molecular, cellular and circuit level. Currently, we are focusing on several questions:
How are excitatory and inhibitory inputs integrated in the striatum?
How do feed-forward and recurrent local inhibitions balance the excitation in the striatum?
How are functional maps modulated in motor behavior and motor learning?
Our goal is to bridge the gap between molecular or cellular events and the circuit mechanisms that underlie motor behavior. In addition, we aim to further help construct the details of psychomotor disorder circuit diagrams, such as the pathophysiological changes in Parkinsons disease.
Publications
- Live-cell superresolution imaging by pulsed STED two-photon excitation microscopy. Biophys J. 2013; (4): 770-7
- Dopaminergic neurons inhibit striatal output through non-canonical release of GABA. Nature. 2012; (7419): 262-6
- Fasting activation of AgRP neurons requires NMDA receptors and involves spinogenesis and increased excitatory tone. Neuron. 2012; (3): 511-22
- Muscarinic modulation of striatal function and circuitry. Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2012; (208): 223-41
- Semaphorin 3E-Plexin-D1 signaling controls pathway-specific synapse formation in the striatum. Nat Neurosci. 2012; (2): 215-23
- Cholinergic modulation of synaptic integration and dendritic excitability in the striatum. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2011; (3): 425-32
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