Joshua M. Kaplan, Ph.D.

Research

Work in my lab is focused on understanding how signals in the brain lead to particular patterns of behavior. We utilize a combination of behavioral, genetic, biochemical, imaging, and electrophysiological techniques to study signaling in the brain of the worm C. elegans. Signals in the brain occur at specialized intercellular connections, known as synapses. There is a surprising amount of diversity in the structural and functional characteristics of synapses. Some synapses are large, others are small. Some are strong others are weak. Very little is known about the molecular differences that underlie this diversity in synaptic function. Our goal is to define the cell biological mechanisms by which synapses are made different from each other.