Ann Marie Craig, Ph.D.

Research

We are interested in how nerve cells in the brain make connections and modify connections with experience. We study these questions of synapse development and synapse plasticity mainly from a cellular and molecular biology viewpoint. What are the molecular triggers that initiate central neuron synapse formation? How do glutamate and GABA receptors traffic to the synapse, and how are such processes regulated by activity? We use a combination of hippocampal neuron culture, molecular biology and genetics, live cell fluorescence imaging, and electrophysiology to answer these questions.