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Robert MalenkaAcademic Appointments
Appointment
Organization
Professor
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Curriculum Vitae Doc
Honors & Awards
Title
Organization
Date(s)
Fellow
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2005
Member
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
2004
Associate
Neurosciences Research Program
1999-2006
Basic Neuroscience Research Award
Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologicum-Lilly
2002
International Prize in Neuroscience
Dargut and Milena Kemali Foundation
2000
8 honors and awards: view full list
Administrative Appointments
Title
Organization
Start Year
End Year
Medical/Scientific Advisory Board
Renovis, Inc.
2000
2008
Scientific Advisory Board
Merck, Inc.
2000
2009
Postdoctoral Advisees
Mohiuddin Ahmad,
Samarjit Bhattacharyya,
Virginie Biou,
Amihai Citri,
Marc Fuccillo,
Brad Grueter,
Percy Luu,
Gilberto Soler-Llavina,
Weifeng Xu
Research Interests
Long-lasting activity-dependent changes in the efficacy of synaptic transmission play an important role in the development of neural circuits and may mediate many forms of learning and memory. Work from my laboratory over the last 10 years has demonstrated that there are a variety of related but mechanistically distinct forms of synaptic plasticity. A major goal of my laboratory is to elucidate both the specific molecular events that are responsible for the triggering of these various forms of synaptic plasticity and the exact modifications in synaptic proteins that are responsible for the observed, long-lasting changes in synaptic efficacy. To accomplish this we use cellular electrophysiological recording techniques to examine synaptic plasticity in a variety of different in vitro preparations including thin slices of various regions of the rodent brain and primary neurons in culture. We also use cell biological and molecular techniques to examine the activity-dependent modulation of neurotransmitter receptors and to express dominant negative forms of various synaptic proteins so that their exact functions can be determined. An additional complementary approach has involved examining synaptic physiology and synaptic plasticity in various mutant mouse lines lacking specific synaptic proteins.
A related but independent area of research in my laboratory is the elucidation of the synaptic action of drugs of abuse such as the psychostimulants cocaine and amphetamine. Toward this end, we have developed in vitro slice preparations of the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area, brain regions which are thought to mediate several of the behavioral effects of drugs of abuse. We have characterized a novel form of synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens and have done an extensive pharmacological characterization of the synaptic effects of dopamine, cocaine, and amphetamine. Currently we are examining in more detail the underlying mechanisms of dopamine's actions and determining how chronic treatment with drugs of abuse affect the synaptic responses of nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area cells. Because chronic exposure to drugs of abuse elicit long-term adaptive changes in critical neural circuits, it is hoped that the knowledge gained from the work on the molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity will provide important clues to the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of tolerance, dependence and addiction.
A related but independent area of research in my laboratory is the elucidation of the synaptic action of drugs of abuse such as the psychostimulants cocaine and amphetamine. Toward this end, we have developed in vitro slice preparations of the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area, brain regions which are thought to mediate several of the behavioral effects of drugs of abuse. We have characterized a novel form of synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens and have done an extensive pharmacological characterization of the synaptic effects of dopamine, cocaine, and amphetamine. Currently we are examining in more detail the underlying mechanisms of dopamine's actions and determining how chronic treatment with drugs of abuse affect the synaptic responses of nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area cells. Because chronic exposure to drugs of abuse elicit long-term adaptive changes in critical neural circuits, it is hoped that the knowledge gained from the work on the molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity will provide important clues to the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of tolerance, dependence and addiction.
Publications
- Xu W, Schlüter OM, Steiner P, Czervionke BL, Sabatini B, Malenka RC "Molecular Dissociation of the Role of PSD-95 in Regulating Synaptic Strength and LTD." Neuron 2008; 57: 2: 248-62 More »
- Kreitzer AC, Malenka RC "Endocannabinoid-mediated rescue of striatal LTD and motor deficits in Parkinson's disease models." Nature 2007; 445: 7128: 643-7 More »
- Stellwagen D, Malenka RC "Synaptic scaling mediated by glial TNF-alpha." Nature 2006; More »
- Biou V, Bhattacharyya S, Malenka RC "Endocytosis and recycling of AMPA receptors lacking GluR2/3." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2008; 105: 3: 1038-43 More »
- Citri A, Malenka RC "Synaptic plasticity: multiple forms, functions, and mechanisms." Neuropsychopharmacology 2008; 33: 1: 18-41 More »
34 publications: view full list
