| Advisor: Start Date: |
Christiane Linster Fall 2007 |
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My main interest is the effect of steroid hormones in the central nervous
system. Using the rat olfactory bulb as a model circuit, I study
modulation and plasticity in sensory system and neural networks.
Current Project: While it is generally accepted that hormones indirectly
modulate olfactory sensitivity, the mechanisms through which this is
accomplished are not well understood. The effects of estrogen on
olfaction have been shown indirectly via studies characterizing the
various stages of the estrous cycle, but the level at which these changes
take place has not been established. Since the main olfactory bulb
contains a population of estrogen receptors, is it possible that estrogen
acts in the bulb by modulating mitral cell response? If so, to what
extent does modulation occur at the mitral cell layer versus the cotical
layer? Does this possible mitral cell plasticity affect long term
learning and memory in the animal? I am using neurophysiological,
molecular, and behavioral methods and assays in an effort to answer these
questions.