Cathy Leamey
The Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology
The mammalian cortex is composed of many discrete areas which have unique
functions. Each area has its own sets of inputs, outputs, internal
circuitry and cytoarchitecture. These sets of connections underlie our
ability to see, hear, speak, move and reason, yet we know little about the
mechanisms which allow the appropriate sets of connections to form during
development. For the last couple of decades, emphasis has been placed on
the role of sensory experience in establishing appropriate connectivity in
the brain. Whilst patterns of neural activity undoubtedly do play an
important role in refining and consolidating connections, recent work has
begun to suggest that molecular cues may also play an important role in
determining cortical regionalisation and connectivity. The work in my lab
studies the mechanisms which underlie the development of appropriate
connectivity in the brain. Using the somatosensory and visual pathways of
the developing mouse as a model, we investigate whether specific molecules
that are differentially expressed between cortical areas play a role in
regulating the pattern of cortical connectivity. For this we use a
combination of anatomical, physiological and molecular techniques to
examine how connectivity changes in animals who over or under express the
genes of interest.
CURRENT RESEARCH:
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Download Data from microarray analysis of mouse P0 visual and somatosensory cortex.
Dr. Cathy Leamey
Department of Physiology
The University of Sydney
NSW 2006 AUSTRALIA
Email: cathy@physiol.usyd.edu.au
Phone: +61 2 9351 3928 Fax: +61 2 9351 2058