Meyer B. Jackson

 

 

Excitability, Synapses, and Circuits in the Nervous System

E-mail: mjackson@physiology.wisc.edu

Research Strengths: Membrane Excitability and Synaptic Transmission, Molecular Neuroscience, Neural Circuits

My laboratory investigates synaptic transmission in the central nervous system using the patch clamp and other biophysical techniques. In the nerve terminals of the posterior pituitary we measure ionic currents and membrane capacitance to study the release process and the ion channels that regulate the entry of calcium. In PC12 cells we use amperometry to measure catecholamine release and analyze the properties of the fusion pore. Molecular manipulations of the exocytotic apparatus are undertaken to relate protein structure to the mechanisms of exocytosis. Another project underway involves the use of voltage sensitive dyes to image electrical activity in functional neural circuits. The information about circuit behavior obtained by this approach will be integrated with a detailed understanding of synaptic transmission to gain insight into the complex processing capabilities of intact nervous systems. Voltage imaging is being applied to slices of the hippocampus to explore spatial variations in long-term synaptic plasticity evoked by different stimulus protocols.

Selected Publications:

• Han, X. and M.B. Jackson. 2005. Electrostatic interactions between the syntaxin membrane anchor and neurotransmitter passing through the fusion pore. Biophys. Lett. 88: L20-22.
• Han, X., C.T. Wang, , J. Bai, E.R. Chapman, and M.B. Jackson. 2004. Transmembrane segments of syntaxin line the fusion pore of Ca2+-triggered exocytosis. Science 304: 289-292.
• Jackson, M.B. and S.J. Redman. 2003. Calcium dynamics, buffering, and buffer saturation in the boutons of dentate granule cell axons in the hilus. J. Neurosci. 23: 1612-1621. [PDF]
• Demir, R., B-X. Gao, M.B. Jackson, and L. Ziskind-Conhaim. 2002. Interactions between multiple rhythm generators produce complex patterns of oscillations in the developing rat spinal cord. J. Neurophysiol. 87: 1094-1107. [PDF]
• Aydar, E., C.P. Palmer, V.A. Klyachko, M.B. Jackson. 2002. The sigma receptor as a ligand-regulated auxiliary potassium channel subunit. Neuron 34: 399-410. [PDF]
• Klyachko, V.A. and M.B. Jackson. 2002. Capacitance steps and fusion pores of small and large-dense-core vesicles in nerve terminals. Nature 418: 89-92. [PDF]