Focus of the research of the Laboratory of Neurobiology is on neural plasticity in the adult central nervous system of teleost fish, and on the role of structural changes of neurons in behavioral plasticity. Our ultimate goal is to help to answer some of the fundamental questions in neurobiology, such as:
- What cellular mechanisms underlie structural plasticity in the adult central nervous system?
- How do alterations in the structure of neurons mediate changes in the behavior of the whole animal?
- What evolutionary constraints have caused the enormous difference between mammals and teleost fish in the potential to exhibit neural plasticity?
- How can a better understanding of the mechanisms that mediate structural plasticity in the central nervous system of teleost fish be used to develop novel therapeutic strategies to cure neurodegenerative diseases, or lesions caused by brain and spinal cord injury, in humans?
To address these questions, we employ an integrative approach — the techniques and concepts used in our investigations are taken from a wide range of disciplines, including molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, biophysics, computational neurobiology, and behavioral neurobiology.
For more information on specific themes of our current and past research, visit the following pages:
