Donald S. Faber

Chairman, Department of Neuroscience

Professor
Functional organization and adaptive properties of central synapses; mechanisms of action of neuromodulators; neural correlates of sensorimotor behavior and its plasticity.

Kennedy Center
Room 429
(718) 430-2511

 

MECHANISMS OF SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION AND REGULATION OF NEURONAL EXCITABILITY

 

Our research activities focus on basic mechanisms of synaptic transmission in the central nervous system and factors involved in the regulation of the strength of the synaptic connections between neurons, and intrinsic mechanisms that modulate neuronal firing patterns. We are particularly interested in the short and long term plasticity of these fundamental properties and their consequences for the operation of neural networks..

The laboratory uses a number of experimental models, including identified neurons in the goldfish midbrain studied in vivo and transgenic mouse models of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington’s Disease.

 

Selected Publications

 

Gelman, S., Grove, C.L., Faber, D.S. (2011) Atypical properties of release and short-term depression at a specialized nicotinic synapse in the Mauthner cell network. J Exp Biol. 214:1560-70.

Grove, C.L., Szabo, T.M., McIntosh, J.M., Do, S.C., Waldeck, R.F., Faber, D.S. (2011) Fast synaptic transmission in the goldfish CNS mediated by multiple nicotinic receptors. J Physiol. 589:575-95.

Weiss, S.A., Faber, D.S. (2010) Field effects in the CNS play functional roles. Front Neural Circuits. 18;4:15.

Weiss, S.A., Preuss, T., Faber, D.S.  (2009) Phase encoding in the Mauthner system: implications in left-right sound source discrimination. J. Neurosci., 11:3431-41.

Gulinello, M., Gertner, M., Mendoza, G., Schoenfeld, B.P., Oddo, S., LaFerla, F., Oddo, S., Choi, C., McBride, S. and Faber, D.S. (2008) Validation of a 2-day Water Maze Protocol in Mice. Behavioral Brain Research, 196, 200-227.

Weiss, S.A., Preuss, T., Faber, D.S. (2008) Role of electrical inhibition in sensorimotor integration. PNAS, 105, 18047-18052.

Szabo, T. M., Brookings, T., Preuss, T., Faber, D.S. (2008) Effects of temperature acclimation on a central neural circuit and its behavioral output. J. Neurophysiol., 100:2997-3008.

Preuss, T., Osei-Bonsu, P.E., Weiss, S.A., Wang, C., Faber, D.S. (2006) Neural representation of object approach in a decision-making motor circuit. J Neurosci. 26, 3454-64.

Weiss, S.A., Zottoli, S.J., Do, S.C., Faber, D.S., Preuss, T. (2006) Correlation of C-start behaviors with neural activity recorded from the hindbrain in free-swimming goldfish (Carassius auratus). J Exp Biol. 209,4788-801.