Director : Eunjoon Kim
Key Mecanisms of Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions.
A large number of proteins including receptors, signaling proteins, and scaffolding proteins participate in the molecular organization of neuronal synapses. We have been studying the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation, differentiation, maintenance, and plasticity of neuronal synapses. A large number of synaptic proteins have recently been associated with various neuropsychiatric developmental disorders including autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, intellectual disability, and emotional disorders. The notion that defective synaptic proteins can be associated with brain dysfunctions has recently been termed "synaptopathy".
Our lab will be exploring key neural mechanisms underlying synaptopathies. To this end, we will create transgenic mice that carry defective synaptic proteins and display neuropsychiatric-like phenotypes, and characterize them using molecular, cellular, imaging, electrophysiological, and systems approaches.