Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceProf. Dr. Christoph Schuster

The physiological, cellular and molecular characterization of synaptic plasticity and higher brain functions such as learning & memory is often hindered by the high complexity of mammalian brains. We therefore apply powerful genetic, physiological and behavioral tools established in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to study experience-dependent synaptic potentiation of larval glutamatergic synapses with high resolution as well as long-term memory (LTM) formation and LTM-extinction using an olfactory conditioning paradigm in adult flies. Our research aims at facilitating the identification of the principal mechanisms underlying higher brain functions.