I am interested in studying local circuits, and how they are repeated as functional modules in the olfactory bulb and in other brain regions. I am currently investigating how numerically small inputs to local GABAergic interneurons have large effects on olfactory bulb circuit processing. Recently I published a paper which defines a role for Blanes cells, a previously uncharacterized olfactory bulb interneuron, that produces persistent feed forward inhibition onto granule cells. I am also studying modulatory inputs onto granule cells that arise from other brain regions.    [rtp@case.edu]

I am studying the function of the dentate gyrus, both in normal animals and in animal models of temporal lobe epilepsy. I recently published the first study of semilunar granule cells (SGCs), a cell type Ramón y Cajal described in the 1800s. We used 2-photon guided paired records to show that these spiny cells are excitatory (they release glutamate) and synapse onto hilar mossy cells and interneurons. Since SGCs are found in the center of the seizure-related synaptic reorganization of the dentate gyrus (the inner molecular layer), they may play a critical role in regulating seizure initiation and propagation in the hippocampus. I am also interested in the circuitry that dampens, and therefore controls, positive feedback circuits in the hippocampus such as the reciprocal connections between dentate granule cells and hilar mossy cells.    [phillip.williams@case.edu]

I am interested in the intrinsic circuits of the dentate hilus. Understanding how these circuits process information in healthy tissue and what problems arise in these circuits in pathological states will provide insight into topics as diverse as memory, sensory coding, and epilepsy. My long-term goal is to understand how sparsely-connected neural networks can retain information through alteration of both the properties of individual units as well as emergent network states.  [larimer@case.edu]

I obtained my B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering in June 1999 and M.S. degree in Biology in August 2005. Currently, I am a first-year graduate student in the Neuroscience Department at CWRU School of Medicine. I am interested in studying neural networks in the mammalian hippocampus, especially the hilar and CA3 region. I am currently working on mossy cells in hilar region, and I am trying to find out where their excitatory inputs come from. I am also interested in computational neurobiology and modeling approaches to study neural networks. [yuan.gao2@case.edu]