Shaul Hestrin

Title
Associate Professor

Department
Comparative Medicine

Research Interests
Synaptic organization of cortical circuits.

Email
shaul.hestrin@stanford.edu

Phone
498-5086

Fax
498-6259

Address
300 Pasteur Drive, R102
Stanford, CA 94305
Mail Code: 5330

Faculty Research Description
Our group is interested in the synaptic mechanisms that underlie the coordinated activity of neurons in local cortical circuits (e.g., in response to sensory stimulation). We are recording from multiple individual cells that are synaptically connected in neocortical slices. Lines of mice with cell-specific expression of GFP are used to identify and record from definedsubtypes of inhibitory neurons. We have recently discovered that electricalsynapses connect fast spiking (FS) cells, which are specific type of inhibitory cortical neurons. These findings raise the hypothesis that groups of cells with similar roles may synchronize their spiking activity. Current studies include:

i. Defining the functional cell types forming local networks within the neocortex and their inter-connections via chemical and electrical synapses.

ii. What are the specific roles of different types of cortical neurons and how their chemical and electrical synapses coordinate spike timing within the network?

iii. The role of temporal patterns of action potential trains in activity-dependent synaptic plasticity.

Galarreta, M. & Hestrin, S. (2001) Spike Transmission and Synchrony Detection in Networks of GABAergic Interneurons.
SCIENCE, 292:2295-2299.

Galarreta, M. & Hestrin, S. (2001) Electrical Synapses Between GABA-Releasing Interneurons. NATURE REVIEWS NEUROSCIENCE, 2:425-433.
Galarreta, M., & Hestrin, S. (1999) A network of Fast-Spiking Cells in the Neocortex Connected by Electrical Synapses.
NATURE ,402:72-75.

Galarreta, M., & Hestrin, S. (1998). Frequency-dependent synaptic depression and the balance of excitation and inhibition in the neocortex. NATURE NEUROSCIENCE. 1:587-594.

Lambolez, B., Ropert, N., Perrais, D., Rossier, J. & Hestrin, S. (1996). Correlation between kinetics and RNA splicing of AMPA receptors in neocortical neurons. Proceeding of the National Academy of Science. 93:17971802.

Hestrin, S. (1993). Different glutamate receptor channels mediate fast excitatory synaptic currents in inhibitory and excitatory cortical neurons. Neuron 11, 1083-1091.

Areas of Study
Cellular Neurobiology
Membrane Excitability
SBRC
Ph.D.