Welcome

Our laboratory studies structural plasticity in the adult mammalian brain. We are interested in identifying the environmental, hormonal and neural stimuli which drive changes in dendritic architecture, dendritic spines and adult neurogenesis. The ultimate goal of this work is to determine the functional consequences of structural plasticity in the adult brain. Adult neurogenesis in the mammalian brain occurs at a relatively high rate in the dentate gyrus of rodents. One major focus of our research has been to characterize the factors which regulate the production and survival of new neurons in the hippocampus. We and others have identified a variety of environmental stimuli, including stress, physical activity and learning as influential determinants of the number of immature neurons in the dentate gyrus. The extent to which new neurons are important for hippocampal function is a matter of ongoing debate and investigation. We have also reported a lower level of adult neurogenesis in the neocortex (this work remains controversial – see images and protocols for an up-to-date view of this issue).